Is Gas Theft on the Rise?
The soaring price of crude oil has turned gas tanks into a cache of valuable booty…(ABC News)
With people becoming increasingly agitated as they attempt to find other transportation and fuel alternatives, some are becoming desperate and have begun stealing gas from other people’s vehicles. According to a recent article published by ABC News, there is a direct correlation with the rising gas prices and the increasing number of gas thefts that are beginning to pop up all around the United States.
In fact, mechanics are reporting that people are no longer just coming in for routine maintenance on their vehicles; but rather, they are bringing in their vehicles, which have fallen victim to gas theft. The way it works it that thieves will look for vehicles that have plastic gas tanks because there is less of a chance of creating a spark (which could lead to a deadly explosion of the highly flammable material). Plastic tanks are also ideal because they are easier to drill a hole into. Thieves will typically drill a hole into the tank and use some other type of container to catch the gas. But mechanics aren’t the only people who are direct witnesses to this rising epidemic. Police departments are also beginning to receive reports of gas tank punctures as well as reports from gas station owners who have drivers actually drive off before paying for their gas.
Mechanics are claiming that they only really began seeing this problem when the gas prices started going up. With the price of gas continuing to rise, it seems that this problem will only get worse. It is a problem on a much bigger level as well. The fact that people are siphoning gas creates various health as well as safety concerns. There is an increased chance that something can go wrong, causing the vehicle to explode, thereby causing significant damage. Police are becoming increasingly concerned about the overall safety issues as well.
Additionally, it leaves the rest of us not only worrying about the price of gas rising, but also about how we can protect our cars from falling victim to gas theft. The cost of replacing a metal tank on passenger vehicles is between $300 and $400 while the price of replacing a plastic tank is at least $500. Some people who own SUVs such as Suburbans have went ahead and purchased gas tank locks for their vehicles, although there is no telling how effective this has been in terms of thwarting criminals from trying to steal gas.
If you have a story about your own issues with gas or gas theft, please comment about it; we’d love to hear about it!
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I’ve been hearing more of this in my own area. It’s also common to hear of people getting the fill pipe to their vehicles cut and having the gas siphoned out.
Seems like once gas made it over $4.00 per gallon this has become more and more common.