the juice. the precious juice...

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As Fuel Prices Rise, So Do Fuel Thefts
By AP
Posted: 2008-06-02 09:55:08
BANGOR, Maine (AP) - As gasoline and heating oil prices rise to record levels, police say theft reports are also on the rise of gas being siphoned from cars, construction equipment and even school buses, and oil being drained out of heating fuel tanks.

 
It seems that no type of fuel - and no amount - is safe these days.

"It's no different than recent thefts of copper pipes or catalytic converters from cars, which have increased in value," Washington County Sheriff Donnie Smith said this week. "This (fuel thefts) isn't something we saw even a couple years ago, but if the value is there, people will take it."

Law enforcement officials say they fear the recent thefts are only the beginning.

Christopher Coleman, head of the Maine State Police unit for Hancock and Washington counties, said troopers in his unit lately have been running from one fuel theft to the next.

"If gas or heating fuel goes above $5 a gallon like people think it's going to, we're only going to see more," he said.

Gas station drive-offs and siphoning from cars are the most common types of fuel thefts, and many gas stations now require motorists to pay before they pump.

But thieves have also set their sights on other targets.




Nearly 600 gallons of heating fuel was taken a couple of months ago from Cherryfield Foods, a Down East blueberry processor. Thieves are also preying on construction equipment that is parked overnight at job sites.

Earlier this month, the Portland International Jetport said it was investigating reports of someone siphoning jet fuel out an aircraft.

Meanwhile, School Administrative District 37 recently equipped its school buses with locking gas caps after someone siphoned fuel from the tanks. One bus even ran out of gas while en route to school.

In Vermont, state police urged truckers to lock their fuel caps after 190 gallons of diesel fuel was stolen from two parked tractor-trailer trucks in St. Johnsbury last weekend.



Fuel thefts are particularly difficult to investigate because little evidence is left behind, Smith said.

"People are either using the fuel themselves and it's gone, or they are selling it cheap," he said. "Obviously, we need help from the community on this, so if people are seeing suspicious activity, they should notify local police."

Sounds like a real good time for ex-military folks to start their own security companies.

ALL YOUR GAS ARE BELONG TO ME !!!

Quoted: Yet I didn't see a single person going the speed limit on the way to work this morning.

+3409283409273498273!!!!

Cool!!!

Quoted: Quoted: Yet I didn't see a single person going the speed limit on the way to work this morning. +3409283409273498273!!!!

Last weekend we went to visit family. I set the cruise control at 70 in the 65 zone on the interstate. We got passed at least 20 times for every 1 vehicle we passed during our 1.5 hours on the interstate. Same thing happened on the return trip that Sunday.

Quoted: Sounds like a real good time for ex-military folks to start their own security companies.

The BRONZE !!

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Yet I didn't see a single person going the speed limit on the way to work this morning. +3409283409273498273!!!! Last weekend we went to visit family. I set the cruise control at 70 in the 65 zone on the interstate. We got passed at least 20 times for every 1 vehicle we passed during our 1.5 hours on the interstate. Same thing happened on the return trip that Sunday.

6 hour drive back up I95 on Saturday afternoon- set my cruise 5 over and was getting passed left and right. People aren't hurting yet or maybe they are and don't know it if they're filling up and paying with the credit card?

Quoted: Yet I didn't see a single person going the speed limit on the way to work this morning.

Yep. Over the long haul driving the limit,
timing the traffic lights and staying off the brake will net huge savings.
I live in semi rural texas and can easily coax 21 mpg from my V8 4runner.
3.73 gears too. Stay of the brake folks!

I thought all cars have locks on their gas tanks or require it to be opened from inside the car now?

I have no idea, I only have a motorcycle and it requires a key.

I hate criminals but I am looking forward to hearing about the new and creative ways thieves will be stealing fuel.  

Kinda like this guy link

Certain vehicles do better at higher speeds.  My 5.6L Titan got 20 MPG going to FL and I was doing between 80 and 85 the whole way.  Advertised MPG is 18 HWY.  It might not be the case for all vehicles, but on a whole, I value time greater then a couple gallons of gas over a long haul.

Woodstock GA to Coconut Grove, Miami, FL is 696 miles.

Cruising at ~82.5 mph the whole trip gets an average of about 78 MPH.

That = 8.92 hours  Which I have managed a couple times.

knock back to a 70 MPH cruise is going to average you about 68 MPH.

That is 10.23 hours.  While it is not a HUGE difference, imagine what happens when they go back to the double nickel (which they will)

Say you manage 10 over... 65 MPH cruise, so you don't get tickets.  Average trip speed of about 60 mph.

11.6 hours on the road.

I don't know what my Titan can do at a lower speed, but I figure I might max out at 22 MPG.  The difference over nearly 700 miles is 13 dollars.  If that means I get off the road an hour or two sooner.  That is worth it.  Especially when the wife is getting buttsore and edgy.


ETA:  Oh and the Double Nickel will increase speeding ticket revenues ENORMOUSLY.  Look for it soon,  MORE HIGHTWAY TAXES!!! Courtesy of your local Smoky or Highway Patrol.  Don't fool yourselves for a MOMENT that this is about saving money and conserving fuel!!!

Quoted: I thought all cars have locks on their gas tanks or require it to be opened from inside the car now? I have no idea, I only have a motorcycle and it requires a key.

 Not that I know of.  Most new cars are built with some sort of anti-siphoning device in the filler neck. However, my 1970 Bronco needs a locking gas cap now. You could probably stick a fire hose down the filler neck.

Quoted: I thought all cars have locks on their gas tanks or require it to be opened from inside the car now? I have no idea, I only have a motorcycle and it requires a key.

People will pry them open or drill a hole in your gas tank to drain it.

It's not IN the tanker!  It's hidden in the vehicles!!

300 gls stolen from my work and the next town over, a trucking business had 1k gls of diesel stolen over the weekend.

if you see a band of crazies with mohawks and cheekless chaps, don't pull over...

prepare accordingly.

Quoted: Yet I didn't see a single person going the speed limit on the way to work this morning.

Amazing, isn't it, especially up here in LiberalLand?

Time for www.stickdeath.com/2005auto.html

Quoted: I thought all cars have locks on their gas tanks or require it to be opened from inside the car now? I have no idea, I only have a motorcycle and it requires a key.

Nope! I have a 2002 Ford Explorer Sportrac and it doesn't have a locking gas cap. Not that it always helps, I have heard of gas tanks being "spiked". I would rather be siphoned.

Quoted: Quoted: Yet I didn't see a single person going the speed limit on the way to work this morning. Amazing, isn't it, especially up here in LiberalLand?

Around here I've noticed more and more people driving slower on the highway.

Last of the V-8 Interceptors mate, a bloody piece of history....

Quoted: Quoted: I thought all cars have locks on their gas tanks or require it to be opened from inside the car now? I have no idea, I only have a motorcycle and it requires a key. People will pry them open or drill a hole in your gas tank to drain it.

Forget drilling.  Just shove hard with a big screw driver.  

Quoted: www.splotchy.com/images/blog/humungus.jpg ALL YOUR GAS ARE BELONG TO ME !!!

THE TIRES, SHOOT THE TIRES!!!!!!

Quoted: I thought all cars have locks on their gas tanks or require it to be opened from inside the car now? I have no idea, I only have a motorcycle and it requires a key.

Has anyone seen when you have a locked gas cap and the cover is locked as well, that the thieves take the screw driver or something pointed and a hammer and punch a hole in the gas tank to get the gas out now you’re out the gas and have to get your gas tank repaired.

Looks like I got myself some guzzaline eh! Guzzaline eh, eh, eh!

Round and round they go, attack attack, like angry ants to the smell of guzzaline.

The thefts will only get more crazy.The higher gas gets, the more
brazen the thefts.

Soon there will be stories of entire tanker trucks getting jacked, and
probably even gas stations being drained of there tanks.

This is only the beginning. Be prepared to defend your cars at night.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I thought all cars have locks on their gas tanks or require it to be opened from inside the car now? I have no idea, I only have a motorcycle and it requires a key. People will pry them open or drill a hole in your gas tank to drain it. Forget drilling.  Just shove hard with a big screw driver.

Yep, that's why I won't buy a locking gas cap.

Quoted: Quoted: Yet I didn't see a single person going the speed limit on the way to work this morning. Yep. Over the long haul driving the limit, timing the traffic lights and staying off the brake will net huge savings. I live in semi rural texas and can easily coax 21 mpg from my V8 4runner. 3.73 gears too. Stay of the brake folks!

Yup.
Inertia is your enemy, but it's also your friend.
There is only one thing I hate more than accelerating; that's having to hit the brakes.

This past tank of gas I was able to coax a record 56.5mpg over 433 miles from my '06 Prius.  I'm a very SMOOTH driver.  It has taken me two years to learn how.  But you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.  After 36 years of driving, I've relearned how to drive - efficiently.  I always settle into the "sweet spot" in the traffic flow where I can control my speed using only gentle adjustments to the accelerator, I never "race" up to a red light; always coast, etc.  Most people around me seem to be actually getting a bit more tolerant of my "weird" driving, I don't seem to make as many people angry anymore; methinks maybe they're starting to learn.

Quoted: The thefts will only get more crazy.The higher gas gets, the more brazen the thefts. Soon there will be stories of entire tanker trucks getting jacked, and probably even gas stations being drained of there tanks. This is only the beginning. Be prepared to defend your cars at night.

Didn't a tanker get jacked on the east coast somewhere? Thought I saw something on the news about it.

Edited with Link: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/19/AR2007101901323.html

Quoted: Yet I didn't see a single person going the speed limit on the way to work this morning.

And there's an awful lot of 'em, too.

Gas isn't "too expensive".  It's just more than we wish it were.

Around here they have already started "spiking" tanks and cutting fuel lines.
Either of which leaves you with an expensive repair on top of the stolen fuel.

Quoted: Yet I didn't see a single person going the speed limit on the way to work this morning.

But isn't that a key point? They were going to WORK. Statistically the odds are pretty good that they are not thieves.

Heres is one that was a couple months ago!

wap.myfoxdetroit.com/index.php?page=content&contentId=2028116

Whole tanker truck

Roadwarrior! Hey, can I be the dude with the Hockey mask?

I don't want to be the blonde dude....

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Yet I didn't see a single person going the speed limit on the way to work this morning. +3409283409273498273!!!! Last weekend we went to visit family. I set the cruise control at 70 in the 65 zone on the interstate. We got passed at least 20 times for every 1 vehicle we passed during our 1.5 hours on the interstate. Same thing happened on the return trip that Sunday.

Why not drive 65 and let them all pass.....more savings

When the F150 is no longer the top-selling vehicle in the US, the price of gas will be where it should.  Obviously, it's still too cheap.

The number of drivers that are in a completely inappropriate vehicle is staggering.  I'd wager than more than half of the folks in full-sized, V8 pickup trucks have practically zero need for such a vehicle.

Yeah, "it's not about need, it's about want".  

Yay, a story from my home state...and only a half hour from where I live.  We used to have drive off problems, but now that the only two stations in town are prepay only, thats been curbed.  Haven't heard about anybody siphoning gas out of peoples cars yet, and I hope that I don't.

Quoted: Quoted: I thought all cars have locks on their gas tanks or require it to be opened from inside the car now? I have no idea, I only have a motorcycle and it requires a key. People will pry them open or drill a hole in your gas tank to drain it.

Most tanks are poly now and they are just ice picking a hole in the tank and collecting gas.

Quoted: When the F150 is no longer the top-selling vehicle in the US, the price of gas will be where it should.  Obviously, it's still too cheap. The number of drivers that are in a completely inappropriate vehicle is staggering.  I'd wager than more than half of the folks in full-sized, V8 pickup trucks have practically zero need for such a vehicle. Yeah, "it's not about need, it's about want".

Uh maybe you missed where Ford announced today they were closing down most  the truck plants ?

For that matter so did Cheverolot with their truck and SUV plants .

People who argue that the price of gas is ok are in denial .

Quoted: When the F150 is no longer the top-selling vehicle in the US, the price of gas will be where it should.  Obviously, it's still too cheap. The number of drivers that are in a completely inappropriate vehicle is staggering.  I'd wager than more than half of the folks in full-sized, V8 pickup trucks have practically zero need for such a vehicle. Yeah, "it's not about need, it's about want".

'the number of gun owners that own assault weapons is staggering. I'd wager that more than half the folks that own assault weapons have practically zero need for such a weapon.'

Quoted: When the F150 is no longer the top-selling vehicle in the US, the price of gas will be where it should.  Obviously, it's still too cheap. The number of drivers that are in a completely inappropriate vehicle is staggering.  I'd wager than more than half of the folks in full-sized, V8 pickup trucks have practically zero need for such a vehicle. Yeah, "it's not about need, it's about want".

No shit dude... forget the fucking SUVs, look at all the TRUCKS on the road. and 99% of the are hauling AIR...  I laugh at them from my Civic...

Quoted: I thought all cars have locks on their gas tanks or require it to be opened from inside the car now? I have no idea, I only have a motorcycle and it requires a key.

Nope.

My 2007 Ram has nothing.

Quoted: Quoted: When the F150 is no longer the top-selling vehicle in the US, the price of gas will be where it should.  Obviously, it's still too cheap. The number of drivers that are in a completely inappropriate vehicle is staggering.  I'd wager than more than half of the folks in full-sized, V8 pickup trucks have practically zero need for such a vehicle. Yeah, "it's not about need, it's about want".   'the number of gun owners that own assault weapons is staggering. I'd wager that more than half the folks that own assault weapons have practically zero need for such a weapon.'

Not shit. If we could get these people to quit shooting all these assault rifles, maybe the price of ammo would go down.

Quoted: Quoted: When the F150 is no longer the top-selling vehicle in the US, the price of gas will be where it should.  Obviously, it's still too cheap. The number of drivers that are in a completely inappropriate vehicle is staggering.  I'd wager than more than half of the folks in full-sized, V8 pickup trucks have practically zero need for such a vehicle. Yeah, "it's not about need, it's about want".   'the number of gun owners that own assault weapons is staggering. I'd wager that more than half the folks that own assault weapons have practically zero need for such a weapon.'

I'm not advocating a ban on pickup trucks and I'd never tell anybody what they could or couldn't choose to drive (or whatever).  For most folks a V8 pickup is a poor choice for a daily driver, IMO.

I own an assault rifle, but I certainly don't "need" it.  OTOH, I don't shoot it as much as I'd like due to the price of ammo.  Need = water, food, shelter.  Everything else is gravy.

Quoted: Quoted: When the F150 is no longer the top-selling vehicle in the US, the price of gas will be where it should.  Obviously, it's still too cheap. The number of drivers that are in a completely inappropriate vehicle is staggering.  I'd wager than more than half of the folks in full-sized, V8 pickup trucks have practically zero need for such a vehicle. Yeah, "it's not about need, it's about want".   'the number of gun owners that own assault weapons is staggering. I'd wager that more than half the folks that own assault weapons have practically zero need for such a weapon.'

He isn't saying "Take their SUVs away from them"... he's saying that when gas goes up, these people will suddenly discover that they don't need the Escalade any more.  People who need a huge V8 will continue to drive a huge V8 no matter what fuel costs.

*pours gas and corn syrup in a can and leave it out by the street*

Or by the driveway if you're experiencing thefts in the area, they'll have issues soon after.

People are stealing license plates around here so they can do drive offs without getting caught.

battery operated pumps for $25 you say?????

Quoted: *pours gas and corn syrup in a can and leave it out by the street* Or by the driveway if you're experiencing thefts in the area, they'll have issues soon after.

5 gallons gas + 2 cups sugar left outside the garage door in plain view...  I like the way you think.