Crime and Crooks

If you live in America, you know all about the climbing price of gas. But, what about the nationwide crime trend born out of it? Crooks are puncturing gas tanks and draining your gas into buckets. In my jurisdiction, they mostly resell the gas at half the market price, although some use the gas themselves.

SUVs are prime targets since they sit higher off the ground, making it easier to climb underneath the vehicle and puncture the tank. The thieves use screwdrivers with hammers to poke holes, and some are even daft enough to use electric drills. We can only hope a little spark might ignite some of that stolen gas on its way into their buckets.

Two things you can do: first, get vandalism insurance on your car. I have an SUV and it would cost nearly $400 to replace my gas tank, plus labor. I added vandalism coverage to my auto insurance policy this week for about $4 extra per month. In most cases, this crime is considered vandalism rather than a theft because the damaged tank is not taken. So, for about $50 a year I’m covered for a stupid crime that would suck nearly $700 out of my pocket.

Second, keep your eyeballs pealed for people loitering with buckets or other containers in hand. They rarely use the traditional gas containers, usually those big white dry wall buckets, sometimes even the 35 pound plastic kitty litter buckets. These gas thieves have been caught on bikes and on foot hauling their buckets of gas; they’re not always in vehicles. Before I learned about this crime trend, I doubt I would have looked twice at some guy carrying a bucket around my neighborhood. Now I’ll call police to report a suspicious person.

Be a watchdog for your gas and your neighbor’s. Beware of bucket carriers.

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