Gas Thieves Puncture Tanks, Steal Fuel; SUVs Easier Targets

[Cali]

[Bandit]

it would not suprise me if people are held up at the pumps, just for gas & whatever else they need to survive.

thanks for the article, I will keep on my toes & hope my tank does not start getting siphoned at night or worse, be punctured.

we were talking about this kind of stuff a few years ago when the natural gas started rising & how people will lose it & do anything to keep warm & survive. People have always stole gasoline but not like this.

[Cali]

I am praying my SUV doesn't get hit for gas or my DH's truck.

it would not suprise me if people are held up at the pumps, just for gas & whatever else they need to survive.

thanks for the article, I will keep on my toes & hope my tank does not start getting siphoned at night or worse, be punctured.

we were talking about this kind of stuff a few years ago when the natural gas started rising & how people will lose it & do anything to keep warm & survive. People have always stole gasoline but not like this.

[DisneyGirl]

I think I will start parking our minivan in the garage!

[FLBK7]

This is really not new news to me. Back in the 70's, when we had the OPEC situation and gas was basically rationed with long lines of cars waiting to buy some, and the price reached $1/gallon for the first time...

There was no such thing as standard gas-tank cap locks back then. I had my ENTIRE gas tank contents syphoned/stolen not once, but twice. The second time my car battery was stolen as well, at the same time. I suppose those were desperate times, huh?

[justplaintired]

Scary isn't it? To think that people are getting this desperate. Really it's not hard to believe. I saw on the news this morning where food lines are now helping middle class people, not just the poor. Which I guess the middle class are the new poor, atleast that would be how I would classify us, we used to be middle class, now I am not so sure anymore. I think stories like this are sad and a sign of things to come.

[Cali]

It is new to me, since in the 70's I was in elementary school.

My SUV and truck are parked on the street in front of my house. I figure if someone wants gas that badly they will take it regardless of where it is parked.

This is really not new news to me. Back in the 70's, when we had the OPEC situation and gas was basically rationed with long lines of cars waiting to buy some, and the price reached $1/gallon for the first time...

There was no such thing as standard gas-tank cap locks back then. I had my ENTIRE gas tank contents syphoned/stolen not once, but twice. The second time my car battery was stolen as well, at the same time. I suppose those were desperate times, huh?

[Bandit]

This is really not new news to me. Back in the 70's, when we had the OPEC situation and gas was basically rationed with long lines of cars waiting to buy some, and the price reached $1/gallon for the first time...

There was no such thing as standard gas-tank cap locks back then. I had my ENTIRE gas tank contents syphoned/stolen not once, but twice. The second time my car battery was stolen as well, at the same time. I suppose those were desperate times, huh?

yes. but people cant get away with doing it that way as easy now so they have resorted to different ways. you cant siphon as easy as it used to be , They cant drive off from the pumps any more either, not like they used to because they are recorded & will be caught.
Granted, there are people who will smash your window for a quarter or a cigarrette.

but what they are doing now is different. they are causing so much damage to the vehicles, especially these big rigs, that you have to make an insurance claim in order to drive your car again.

I dont remember anyone going around drilling holes in the gas tanks, cutting the lines as a profession. Someone is going to blow up doing that. I have seen footage where people blow up just by the friction they make getting in & out of the car then fill up the tank by the spark they make touching the metal with their finger.

so this is a little bit different from just siphoning because new tanks have floaty balls on purpose & it makes it very hard to siphon these days. this is stealing & vandalism, real close to putting sugar in your tank kind of vandalism, especially if it blows up.

[FLBK7]

yes. but people cant get away with doing it that way as easy now so they have resorted to different ways. you cant siphon as easy as it used to be , They cant drive off from the pumps any more either, not like they used to because they are recorded & will be caught.
Granted, there are people who will smash your window for a quarter or a cigarrette.

but what they are doing now is different. they are causing so much damage to the vehicles, especially these big rigs, that you have to make an insurance claim in order to drive your car again.

I dont remember anyone going around drilling holes in the gas tanks, cutting the lines as a profession. Someone is going to blow up doing that. I have seen footage where people blow up just by the friction they make getting in & out of the car then fill up the tank by the spark they make touching the metal with their finger.

so this is a little bit different from just siphoning because new tanks have floaty balls on purpose & it makes it very hard to siphon these days. this is stealing & vandalism, real close to putting sugar in your tank kind of vandalism, especially if it blows up.

The MEANS to steal are different today, but my point is that gas prices and/or shortages create desperation in many and this is just as true true today as it was in the 70's. And since necessity is the mother of invention, thieves will continue to find ways to get what they want, regardless of the consequences.

[Bandit]

The MEANS to steal are different today, but my point is that gas prices and/or shortages create desperation in many and this is just as true true today as it was in the 70's. And since necessity is the mother of invention, thieves will continue to find ways to get what they want, regardless of the consequences.

oh. i thought you were saying the way they steal today is the same as yesterday or that it is the same for the victims & that the report was old news, like it happened a long time ago. thanks for the clarifications.

to me on a larger scale, this report goes like this:

a)yesterday they stole my gold wedding ring...police report...ok no problem I will be ok.
b)today they are stealing gold wedding rings by cutting wedding fingers off...now i need insurance claim, tons of dr. bills, police report, months of pain, will they ever catch the guy, maybe court with trial, can I still do my job well with my hand...& it gets way more complicated for the victims & everyone involved.

[AMISLANDER]

time for a personal use GLOCK.

[FLBK7]

time for a personal use GLOCK.

I have a 22. Thankfully I've never had to use it, but it's there for me should the need arise.

[Pizza]

Same situation occured closed to my area, in Grapevine, where theives rigged a 'sleeping' pump to fuel 15 cars... they all ended up in jail... I would give them a medal instead... except for the fact that I had to pay $4/gal.

[AMISLANDER]

My 4Runner is sitting in the driveway at home on the big "E".....they'd best not waste their time!

[AngelinaCatHub]

Just my 2 cents: I have a TDI. Jetta diesel. The first thing I did was to remove the “diesel only” sticker on the fuel door. I figure if anyone wanted to steal gas from me they wouldn’t drive far. Also if anyone stole the car and fueled it the car will not burn water or gasoline. It does, however, burn peanut oil and other cooking oil nicely. There is no reason to have a spark plug engine when the diesel was invented in the 1800 to burn soybean oil. We are wasting energy and food to make ethanol. A total waste of food and energy. Squeeze the corn into oil “we cook with corn oil” and then give the shell to the animals. Less energy and self sufficiency if we can get away from gasoline.

I have a diesel tractor with hydraulic drive. On the 100 hour break in, I changed five gallons of hydro oil. What to do with the old oil? Well I put it into the fuel tank and mowed my yard with it. I use only spent French fry oil (strained of course) to drive the tractor.

I’m with Amislander and FLBK7 on time to carry a weapon. I have a permit to carry and since at one time my door was attempted to be broken in when I was at a traffic light, I now have a 32 in a mounted holster on my center council and no one will ever pull me out of my car again.