Gas at $5 a Gallon

[Fuel Miser]

A quick search reveals New Brunswick's average gas price at 131.65 Canadian per liter. A couple quick conversions finds you at $5.25 U.S. per gallon. Could this behavior migrate south to our peaceful, law abiding country? I think we'll need a different prevention strategy if it does.


Photo:1.bp.blogspot.com/_j4PQb_5FGac/SLcIQTnGGNI/AAAAAAAAA3U/hl38Cbt4vAc/s320/petro-canada-gas-pump.jpg

Owner to Gas Thief: Shame on You
Apr 29, 2011

NEW BRUNSWICK, Canada -- If guilt doesn't stop one driver from stealing gas, maybe shame will. At least that's what one gas retailer in the Moncton area of New Brunswick hopes.

This particular driver has a silver Pontiac G-5 and filled up twice in the past two weeks then left the station without paying, according to Jason Lutes, owner of Esso convenience store and gas station at Magnetic Hill. As he told CBC News, he couldn't jot down the license plate of the offending car because the driver removes the tags before getting gas.

With no license plate to give the police, Lutes took matters into his own hands. He placed a large sign with neon letters in front of his station asking the driver to stop the criminal activity. According to the news outlet, the sign reads "Hey Silver Pontiac G-5 with no plate -- please stop stealing gas."

In addition, Lutes has posted a picture of the driver -- taken by a surveillance camera -- online and has offered a $50 reward to anyone who can identify him. To date, more than 2,200 have viewed the picture.

As gas prices have risen so have the number of drive aways, he added. "Before the gas spiked we were down to maybe two a month and right now?with the spike maybe 10 to 15 a month so that's a lot more and they're never $5 or $10, they're always on the upper end of the fill up," Lutes told CBC News.

Even if his measures do not shame the thief into changing his criminal ways, Lutes does hope the sign will deter others from doing the same. "It's definitely not just a problem here, it's a problem everywhere with the higher gas prices although busier stations do get targeted more by the criminals," he said.

http://www.csnews.com/top-story-owne...you-58618.html

[theholycow]

I haven't seen a "pump first then pay" gas station in years. Now they are all "pay first then pump" style. That's pretty annoying for paying cash.

[Fuel Miser]

As I approach any big city they do become fewer and farther between but here in "The Land of Pleasant Living" (Maryland's Eastern Shore) they're the rule rather than the exception. Now and again you'll hear "pump 3, you're approved for fueling, please come in to pay when you're finished" over an intercom. I'd love to do a study identifying whom is not "approved". An attorney would have a field day.

[VX_Arky]

In Arkansas, I'd say about 90 percent of stations allow you to pump first and then pay as long as it's daylight. At least that's the way it is where I live, but I'm in a relatively small town. Still, once the sun sets, it's pay first or wait until the sun comes back up.