If you’re thinking about hoarding gasoline or diesel fuel now that the price keeps rising every day, think about what you’re doing. And don’t try to use plastic trash bags or laundry baskets to hold the heavy liquid gold. Like this person in Tecuci, near Romania. The unidentified fuel hoarder used a big plastic container to contain their purchase, only to have it spill onto the street. All 250 gallons of it. 

Gas panic-buying shouldn’t be done like this

The gas crisis is happening all over the world as Russia continues to batter Ukraine. Between interrupted Russian shipments of fuel, and with countries like the US banning it entirely, as the price goes up and up, consumers try to get “creative.” The person in question obviously wasn’t creative enough. That, and the panic-buying that invariably comes with gas crunches such as the one we are entering now. 

He or she used a flatbed truck with a large plastic container to hold over 250 gallons of diesel fuel. It did, though it is illegal almost everywhere to store fuel this way. Even with the metal framework keeping the plastic from tearing apart, you can’t do this.

How did this gas spill happen?

A gallon of diesel fuel weighs seven pounds, so this was almost 1,800 lbs of the stuff. It’s too bad that someone at the fueling station didn’t explain this before the pumping began. But more on that later.

And that weight shifts in every container. That’s why those tanker trucks you see take the turns so slowly. The fuel hoarder wasn’t hip to that, and so as he or she was turning onto the street, the container shifted, and then fell off of the flatbed. And onto the street. Without the container frame being somehow tied to the flatbed, inertia will get you. Or in this case, the container.

Panic-buying need not involve panic-driving if indeed that is what caused the spill. Or could it have been distracted driving? Maybe it was an act of God or a case of Darwinian results in real-time? Whatever the reason for the spill, this person’s bad luck had just begun.

Both the driver and gas station will be fined

According to Digi24, the spill happened in an area with plenty of security cameras. Once the driver saw his spill, he hopped into his truck and sped off. But authorities thought it egregious enough to investigate. The security footage will help to track down the driver. That, and the receipt for the diesel fuel.

So besides the embarrassment, and the loss of around $1,800, the driver will face a fine. And so will the fueling station. They’ll take a hit for allowing the fuel to be contained this way. Hopefully, that will keep this from happening again, at least at this station in Romania.