# I was caught stealing gas, and now a sandwich board is my fate **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 31, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693 "2004-07-31T03:13:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/1 "2004-07-31T03:13:28Z")
[Don’l steal gas on the Eastern Shore!](http://www.wmdt.com/topstory/topstory.asp?id=1005) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/2 "2004-07-31T03:34:53Z")
Sure beats jail. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/3 "2004-07-31T03:50:58Z")
Or a fine, since as her husband implied, they don’t even have enough money to pay for the gas. Totally aside from the content, that is one of the most poorly written news articles I’ve ever read. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/4 "2004-07-31T04:00:29Z")
I’m amazed at the people that think stealing from someone else is OK when “they are struggling and don’t have enough money to eat”. Get a job (or 2). Reduce your standard of living. This is America. Make it work. ---
**Author:** ![Baraqiyal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@Baraqiyal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baraqiyal)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/5 "2004-07-31T04:03:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Manager Jan Phipps says it’s a fair punishment, since gas prices have risen, a lot of people are skipping out at the pumps. > > “It takes me an hour and a half to research our video drive offs, so no I don’t feel that. She should be held responsible,” said Phipps. Every gas station I visit requires you to pay before you pump. Why don’t they all do that? ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/6 "2004-07-31T04:08:40Z")
That’s a very regional thing. Most stations in northern Indiana don’t require payment first. Some require pre-payment after 10pm. Having owned a gas station, I know the problems with drive-offs. The gas-buying public is finicky. If you’re the only station in the area requiring pre-pay, customers will go elsewhere under the misguided impression that it’s more convenient. When dealers are only making pennies for profit on the gallon, a single drive-off can make a impact. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/7 "2004-07-31T04:12:01Z")
I’d never heard of having to pay for petrol before putting it in your car. Guess it is a sign of things to come here. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/8 "2004-07-31T04:28:26Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > I’d never heard of having to pay for petrol before putting it in your car. Guess it is a sign of things to come here. FWIW, I’m in the midwestern US, and we usually don’t pay pre-pump either. I think I’ve done it once, at night, in a somewhat bad neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/9 "2004-07-31T06:31:01Z")
Consider my mind boggled, but I don’t think I’ve ever been to a gas station that doesn’t require pre-payment. You mean there are actually areas where they trust people enough to let them put $45 of gas into their car before offering up any money for it? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/10 "2004-07-31T07:54:42Z")
I am also surprised you can tank up and pay later…have never seen that. But on the flip side of the coin, prices here have gone from 99 cents a gallon five years ago to $2.53 a gallon. Now, we are supposed to be thrilled that a few stations are selling it for under 2 bucks? I know it is not the fault of the momandpop owners of gas stations, but who is really being robbed? I would like to see the CEO’s of Chevron, Texaco, Shell and others stand out there with a placard saying, “I got a 40 million dollar bonus last year.” You can bet a few people would stop and give their regards as well. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/11 "2004-07-31T08:02:34Z")
So how does the “paying before pumping” work then? I can work out that it would be worjkable by debit/credit cardbut if you want to pay in actual money, how are you supposed to predict what the actual cost will be? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/12 "2004-07-31T08:10:31Z")
All gas stations here have pay at the pump. You slide your credit card/ATM card in the slot, right there at the pump, and then tank up. If you do not have a credit card, you go into the station, give them a $20 bill and then go out and tank up, then you go back in and get your change. They only turn on the tank after you pay them up front. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/13 "2004-07-31T08:22:59Z")
**Jenaroph** Yeah, talk about lousy writing!!! I guess the author of that grad-gee-ated from the _“Dubya” Bush School of Journalism and Small Engine Repair._ By the way, did you notice the author’s name (Josh Davidsburg) and photo prominently displayed next to the story? Do you think this was a court-ordered punishment for his less than spectacular linguistic skills? _this is the new digital video camera that caught Purnell. It’s so clear you can read license plate numbers._ Yeah, guess that station got one of them thar new technologicable wonders that can actually photograph a license plate !!! Heck, next we’ll be riding in carriages without horses and sending people to the Moon. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/14 "2004-07-31T10:11:14Z")
As a teenager in 1988 I worked at a gas station as an attendent. We didn’t charge first, but we were generally outside collecting money and making change, so most people I think were nervous that if they didn’t pay, they would be recognized the next time they came in. We didn’t have much of a problem at all. The owner died, the new owner tore out the garage and put in a mini-mart, and like every station probably in the whole of California, it’s pre-pay now, with credit/bankcard pay outside available. ---
**Author:** ![Kricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f14d63/32.png) [@Kricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kricket)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/15 "2004-07-31T11:06:06Z")
I don’t go to pre-pay places unless I have to. I always feel like I’m getting screwed because it shuts off before I’m done. Example I tell them I want ten in gas and somewhere around 9.75 it stops. You can feel it stop. Now it might just be that right before your money is up is slows down so much that the decrease in presure makes it feel like it stops. I have found a few ways around pre-pay. There are two stations that I am a regular at and because of the hours I stop in they recognise me and give me the thumbs up. The other way is to hand them a twenty and ask nicely for them not to set it on pre-pay because I have trouble with it. They still have money in their hands and I don’t have to worry about feeling screwed over. ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/16 "2004-07-31T11:14:52Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > If you do not have a credit card, you go into the station, give them a $20 bill and then go out and tank up, then you go back in and get your change. They only turn on the tank after you pay them up front. Change? From a 20? Oh man I wish… On average, a 50 liter tank will cost about 45 dollars to fill. On the plus side, I’ve never seen a pay before pumping station in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/17 "2004-07-31T12:40:20Z")
> [@](#): > > On average, a 50 liter tank will cost about 45 dollars to fill. Thats it? Isn’t that like a $1.50 American? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/18 "2004-07-31T13:12:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Example I tell them I want ten in gas and somewhere around 9.75 it stops. You can feel it stop. Now it might just be that right before your money is up is slows down so much that the decrease in presure makes it feel like it stops. The pump slows _way_ down before reaching the pre-paid amount. WAG: I think this is because if it clicked off right at the amount, there will still be some fuel in the hose. Not much, but with several hundred customers it adds up. By reducing the flow, you reduce the amount of residual fuel in the hose and the customer gets just the amount of fuel he paid for. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/19 "2004-07-31T13:31:07Z")
> [@Anonymous Coward](#): > > Change? From a 20? Oh man I wish… No problem here. The last time I filled up, I went inside the store, got a soda, and paid for both gas and soda with a $2 bill. I drive a Yamaha. Scooter. 1 gal gas tank. 100MPG. 🙂 Eat your heart out. And yes, around here, we pay AFTER pumping. We’re an honest bunch, and everybody knows everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693/20 "2004-07-31T13:53:19Z")
In the CNN version of the story, a bystander asks, “What is this, the Middle Ages?” No sir, if it were she could be in stocks, or chained to a wall in a dungeon. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-caught-stealing-gas-and-now-a-sandwich-board-is-my-fate/257693.md?page=2)