North American Fuel Shortage Reports

[frankthetank]

at least locally... I was talking with a few police officers and they noted that the number of people stealing gasoline has increased.

Anyone been hearing/seeing increases? I believe in some parts you must pay before filling. The gas station owners locally say its bad for business. (like stolen gas isn't!)

[marek]

That's scary, at $ 2 per gallon? I wonder what will happen when the chickens come home to roost.

[frankthetank]

that about says it...good one

[Richard]

It's probably due to problems in society; the "I want it all and I want it now" attitude as opposed to high prices. That said if your location/lifestyle is designed purely around cheap oil then problems will definetly occur.

[savethehumans]

That cartoon pretty much says it all.

I can remember seeing cheap-o sci-fi movies about gas bandits (yeah, and the Road Warrior flicks, too). Looks like another example of Life imitates Art....

[BorneoRagnarok]

Good cartoon. According to some Esso petrol station workers here , some drivers keep stealing their petrol by driving away without making payments and they are regular 20 years customers.

I think some are too poor too drive yet they don't give up their cars.

[pea-jay]

Definately no theft here in central CA. Our pumps are 100% pre-pay establishments.

[No-Oil]

Most of you probably have locking petrol filler caps/flaps on your cars, but how many of you relise that they are fitted because of the 1973-74 fuel crisis ?

During that crisis, whole streets would wake up & find all their cars had had their tanks emptied overnight. Their were no locking fuel caps & no car alarms back then. The manufacturers response was to add locking caps & it was a big sales item at the time, you know, "buy our new XYZ model, with twin cam, go faster stripes & locking fuel cap" !

You'll soon need a dog attached to the wheel near the filler !

[whiteknight]

Experts Say Rising Gas Prices Spur Thefts, Violence

By Samira Jafari Associated Press Writer
Published: Aug 23, 2005

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The case of an Alabama gas station owner run down and killed by a driver who police believe was escaping with $52 worth of fuel comes as no shock to industry experts.
"As the price of gas climbs, people's values decline," said Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores.

Lenard said the death of Husain "Tony" Caddi, 54, has captured national media attention for two reasons: It shows that soaring gas prices make people angry enough to steal, and gas retailers are tired of putting up with it.

Caddi, owner of the Fort Payne Texaco, died Friday after he grabbed onto the vehicle and the driver dragged him across the parking lot and onto a highway, police said. Caddi fell from the vehicle and was run over by the vehicle's rear wheel. A search for the driver and a gold or tan Jeep-style SUV continued Monday.

The Petroleum & Convenience Marketers of Alabama tells gas retailers to "never try to take action themselves" during robberies and drive-offs, said Arleen Alexander, the group's executive director.

"But I can understand why someone would want to fight for their property," Alexander said. "Fifty-two dollars doesn't sound like that much, but with the little they're making these days that's a lot."

Gasoline theft cost retailers nationwide $237 million in 2004 - more than twice the $112 million loss in 2003, according to NACS.

On average, one in every 1,100 fill-ups was a gas theft last year, the group said. With about a penny per gallon as profit, a retailer would have to sell an extra 3,000 gallons to offset each $30 stolen, Lenard said.

Theft combined with gas prices that have jumped this summer by as much as 18 cents to an average of $2.55 a gallon nationally, and both retailers and consumers are beginning to lash out, experts warned.

"It's a very difficult situation and you're never sure how people are going to react," said Sam Turner, president of Calfee Co. of Dalton, Ga., which operates 114 Favorite Markets convenience stores in the South.

"It's something on everybody's mind right now because it's a commodity that virtually everybody uses. You're talking about a heck of an impact to their billfold," he said.

Lenard and Turner said safety and theft concerns have pushed most gas stations in the region to shift to a prepay policy, but even that is not a perfect solution. A prepay policy cuts down on browsing and buying in gas station stores - a big chunk of owners' profits.

"We're in uncharted territory. We're seeing more people going to prepay than ever before," Lenard said. "I think we'll look back on 2005 and say 'Remember when we used to be trusted to pay for our gas?'"

[I_Like_Plants]

I don't think the incident was well thought out on either side, it was more of a panic situation.

That being said, let's hope they find the SUV driver (hit and run) and hang 'em!

[Specop_007]

Whenever i get gas I try to shoot the breeze with the attendants as much as possible. One chain I go to is QuikTrip. I havent seen a slow QT yet, there always busy.
Anyways, today while prepaying I was jawin with him a little bit about the pre-pay issue. He told me they had 3.2 million dollars worth of drive off's. I dont know if that was last year, to date this year or what. Didnt have much time to work out the fine print you know.
This was for 1 gas station chain in 1 city. QT in Kansas City.

I'm really curious if they have gone up (The drive offs) as gas prices have increased. Unfortunately I didnt have time to get all that. When I asked if the drive offs have went up as a result of gas price increase he said
"No, but we're pre-pay. We had 3.2 million worth of drive off's before going pre-pay"

So, hard to say if the drive offs could be correlated to a gas pricepoint. Still, interesting information nonetheless. Thats alot of damned money in unpaid gas.

[realeyz]

I have seen quite a few news bits on Gas theft today:

Several reports of Gas being stolen from cars by syphoning in certain areas

Several reports of people pumping gas and then driving away without paying. One station had a guy with binoculars and a pad of paper writing down plate numbers and calling police.

Another piece I saw was a guy who closed down his gas station because of people poor attitudes towards him - thinking he was the one responsible for the higher prices.

These incidents are only the beginning - with higher prices comes bigger and more saerious incidents like this - it may come to point where its hard to find stations still in business because none can afford or risk staying in business.

[BabyPeanut]

Another drop in the bucket.

It took more than two hours for the truck carrying more than 8,600 gallons of fuel to burn itself out. (link)

There's a pic of the crater but BBcode insists on pics ending in .jpg and that crap and the web site doesn't. Just visit the page to see the carnage.

[AmericanEmpire]

I'd hate to think of all the wasted fuel in history from accidents such as this, oil spills, oil wells being set on fire during the first Gulf War ect.

Hey, its just oil or oil products though right? No big deal

[DarkDawg]

...not to mention all the gas burned by those idling in backed up traffic for miles and miles due to accidents such as this.

The problem I have with the report (typical MSM coverage) is the total disregard for the poor truck driver's well-being. Not a word about the driver is even mentioned in the report. The total focus is on "the busiest travel day of the year" the damaged roadway and how long it will take to repair it, and the backed up traffic caused by the accident.

This is what we have become America.

[BabyPeanut]

better?

Tanker Fire Snarls Morning Traffic (link)
By Daniela Deane, Fred Barbash and Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, November 23, 2005; 9:46 AM
...skip...
Boyer Chew, the driver of the truck, told WRC-Channel 4 that he felt "lucky to be alive"

[DarkDawg]

Yes! Thank you. Especially like the part about the poor SUV owner:

"It's been a nightmare," said Davila, parked in the corner of an Exxon gas station near where the truck caught fire. "First, we hit the traffic on I-95. Then the Range Rover broke down." The couple's SUV over-heated while they were stalled in the traffic caused by the fire

LOL

[gnm]

Thats what qualifies as a "nightmare" scenario for her? Good Gawd! Theres gonna be a lot of people in for a rude awakening...

-G

[AmericanEmpire]

Thats what qualifies as a "nightmare" scenario for her? Good Gawd! Theres gonna be a lot of people in for a rude awakening...

Yeah, I don't think most Americans have a concept of reality. It reminds me of the thing on the movie "Oil Storm" where the lady says she can't believe people are freezing to death in there homes in the 21st century.

People are gonna get a real wakeup call. The way people live they believe tough times will never return. How else do you explain people allowing themselves to be mortgaged to the hilt.

[falser]

This halted the Beltway around Washington DC. Thankfully I commute by subway so I can laugh this off. But hundreds of thousands of people drive through there on an average day let alone Thanskgiving. The 495/95 interchange easily one of the busiest in the country. I'm glad I don't have to be out there today.