C172 pilot reported landing on a road after running out of fuel during a weather diversion.

Attributes
ACN	1387549
Time
Date	201609
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Descent
Route In Use	Direct Visual Approach
Flight Plan	VFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Fuel System
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 19 Flight Crew Total 145 Flight Crew Type 139
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Object Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

During my pre-flight; I calculated fuel based on my flight path with 45 minutes of reserve fuel on board. I also planned to have an alternate airport in case of an emergency. During my VFR flight; I was diverted by ATC (flight following) due to inclement weather; then direct on course to my final destination. Due to this diversion; I experienced fuel exhaustion approximately 8.3 NM from [my destination]. I made the decision to divert to [an airport] which was approximately 7.3 NM from my position at the time. Upon diverting and gliding the aircraft approximately 4+/- NM; I was forced to make an emergency landing onto the interstate. Upon landing the aircraft successfully without any damage to myself or others; I maneuvered the aircraft to the shoulder of the interstate. During this maneuvering; I made contact with a mile maker sign that caused some damage to the right wing.the way to correct the problem in the future is to take full fuel on any future comparable flight. I did anticipate some diversion however I did not properly plan for the amount of diversion required for weather causing fuel exhaustion.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C172 pilot reported landing on a road after running out of fuel during a weather diversion.

Narrative: During my pre-flight; I calculated fuel based on my flight path with 45 minutes of reserve fuel on board. I also planned to have an alternate airport in case of an emergency. During my VFR flight; I was diverted by ATC (flight following) due to inclement weather; then direct on course to my final destination. Due to this diversion; I experienced fuel exhaustion approximately 8.3 NM from [my destination]. I made the decision to divert to [an airport] which was approximately 7.3 NM from my position at the time. Upon diverting and gliding the aircraft approximately 4+/- NM; I was forced to make an emergency landing onto the interstate. Upon landing the aircraft successfully without any damage to myself or others; I maneuvered the aircraft to the shoulder of the interstate. During this maneuvering; I made contact with a mile maker sign that caused some damage to the right wing.The way to correct the problem in the future is to take full fuel on any future comparable flight. I did anticipate some diversion however I did not properly plan for the amount of diversion required for weather causing fuel exhaustion.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.