Two trucks full of fuel stolen

Hopefully this does not turn ugly.

Two tanker trucks, carrying a combined 3,900 gallons of diesel fuel, disappeared Tuesday from a distribution business on Atlanta Industrial Parkway west of downtown, Atlanta police said.

www.nationalterroralert.com... - Full story here.

This is most definately not good.

The oil companies can use this as an excuse to once again jack up prices eventhough the amount is very small compared to what trucks nationwide burn idling everyday.

As far being a component in a bomb, well it would either be a huge explosion or multiple targets.

Most definately not good.

Ahh, stop sulking. Down here in Aus a couple of people got up in the early morning, went to a service station, and sucked the petrol out of the underground tanks. How's that for funny! Apparently the owner walked in to work only to find 6 litres left. People that saw thought the truck was filling the station with petrol, not taking it away.

It's because fuel costs so much that a lot of people have stopped driving down here. It costs a lot mroe here than it does in the U.S.

Yup...not good.
Gives those greeders a chance to slap on some sort of saftey surcharge
for transportation of the fuel...or some bs like that.

mod edit: censor circumvention


[edit on 5-7-2006 by sanctum]

You're going to see this more and more often, if the price of fuel stays like this or gets higher.

It becomes a very tempting target for professional hijackers. The trucks are lightly guarded, often the drivers are unarmed and unescorted. It's the proverbial low-hanging fruit.

The terrorism implications are obviously quite disturbing, but I think that the bigger picture is just as grim. If fuel costs rise, more thefts will occur, and guess what? Fuel costs will rise more to compensate, providing an even greater incentive for theft.

It's a slippery slope, and at the bottom is a Mad Max world, where armed gangs fight furiously over the dwindling fuel. Obviously we're not there yet, but there's no denying we're heading in that direction.

Just a minor, somewhat related side-note, the gas stations in my town have reported an alarming increase in drive-offs. The higher the price of gas goes, the worse the problem gets.

The cost to transport fuel is also rising (obviously), and that's not a good thing. It won't be long before it's simply not profitable to ship things like cabbage and potatoes and so forth, and when that happens, do you think the grocery stores are going to provide these staples out of the kindness of their hearts? No, prices will rise, nobody will buy a ten dollar bag of potatoes, and the variety of foods available at most grocery stores will shrink dramatically.

Foods that have a high value/volume ratio will do nicely, staples that are heavy and cost little, like beans and rice will not be profitable to move around the country. That spells real trouble for people living below the poverty line, or on a fixed income.

Not long after that point, freezer trucks become unprofitable, as they carry a whole lot of extra weight that doesn't pay for itself. Food prices already outstrip inflation by a hearty double digit percentage annually, this is just making things that much worse.

All I can say is: raise rabbits, raise fish in a barrel, plant a vegetable garden - and hope for the best.

[edit on 5-7-2006 by WyrdeOne]

Originally posted by Ahabstar
The oil companies can use this as an excuse to once again jack up prices eventhough the amount is very small compared to what trucks nationwide burn idling everyday.

Are you kidding me? Oil corp price hike over 4K gallons of diesel?
Not hardly. I highly doubt oil execs have any clue this even happened.

NN

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
You're going to see this more and more often, if the price of fuel stays like this or gets higher.

It becomes a very tempting target for professional hijackers. The trucks are lightly guarded, often the drivers are unarmed and unescorted. It's the proverbial low-hanging fruit.

My exact same thought.

Don't worry, nothing to see here move along.

They know where the trucks are. Can you say RFID?? I knew you could...

No need to over react.

Are you speaking to anyone in particular rancid?

I don't see any overreactions, so maybe you're attempting a pre-emptive strike?

Also, can you provide us with a link to where you got your information? Or are you just making an assumption that the tankers are RFID equipped?

Did a brief search, and came out with this

www.securitymagazine.com...

Pullo, president of Metro Fuel Oil Corp., works with Satellite Security Systems (S3) of San Diego and that firm’s FleetGuard application to secure and monitor 16 service vehicles and 40 fuel and oil tankers. FleetGuard desktop software works with S3’s GlobalGuard to view, command and control fleet vehicles. The security communications system uses cellular ReFLEX technology and GPS to provide up-to-the-minute vehicle location and control of fixed and mobile assets. Well aware of the homeland security concern that a fully loaded tanker truck could be used as a terrorist weapon, the system continuously provides security analysis.

“In our business it’s imperative to protect employees, customers, the public and the company itself,” Pullo says. “If the unthinkable ever happens and one of our vehicles is hijacked by terrorists, it is very comforting to know that the security system will respond on our behalf and work with law enforcement to take control of the vehicle and shut it down before any damage can be done.”

But I wasn't aware that similar systems have been implemented nationwide. Is that the case, do you know?


[edit on 5-7-2006 by WyrdeOne]

Originally posted by WyrdeOne

But I wasn't aware that similar systems have been implemented nationwide. Is that the case, do you know?

I have a friend who owns a fuel delivery fleet and he has had GPS installed on all of his trucks since 1999. He had them installed just to catch the goof off's and slackers, they are also good for keeping records required by the feds for the trucks that cross the state lines. I also believe that all GM products have had OnStar installed on most if not all of their products for the past three years or longer, so I would think they all have them, but just do not make it public knowledge.

Just so a truck full of ammonium nitrate wasn't stolen as well we shouldn't have to worry too much. That would be one heck of an explosion and a scary posibility.

Originally posted by rancid1
They know where the trucks are. Can you say RFID?? I knew you could...

RFID on a big rig would be pointless unless you installed RFID readers everywhere that a truck could travel.

Now they could use Qualcomm or OmniTracs or another satellite broadband connection (same technology as DirectWave (formarly DirectPC) to search for the tanker's ID number. That is IF the trucks are so equipped and IF they have not been disabled and IF the truck and the tanker are using the same system.

My company has trailers stolen all the time. Usually they are empty but sometimes they are loaded. Recovery is done by old fashion methods of looking and hoping that they drive across a weigh station and the scalemaster notices and has them pull to the back.

Every Wed I receive a list of missing trailers, 25 of them are the same ones that were missing when I hired on a year ago. Some companies like Werner (the blue trucks) have totally integrated systems that can remotely control top speed for the truck. Can see if the hood has been raised or the trailer doors been opened. Other companies don't go so far or even use any system other than the driver calling their dispatcher every day or when ready for next load.

The technology is there, just a matter of people adopting it. For an Owner/Operator with just the one truck, there is no need. For small 5-10 truck businesses there is no need. Only larger outfits find the tracking beneficial to the cost, although most don't use it to their advantage.

On the driver's side of things, the signal can be blocked rather easy, parking under the awning of an old gas station, wrapping the white domed antenna in aluminum foil, unplugging the power cord or just simply being in an area that doesn't have coverage.

But RFID on a big rig? Pointless.

Of course there is one other possibility...simple retaliation to Gov. Perdue's new law requiring all Georgia CDL holders to become part Highway Watch as a condition to renewing their CDL's.

In other words a sophomoric prank by enraged drivers being forced to participate in volunteer program ran by Dept. of Homeland Security to continue their livelihood. This did happen in Atlanta after all.

If that is the case, I applaud them for proving that the new law is stupid and useless.

Originally posted by watch_the_rocks
People that saw thought the truck was filling the station with petrol, not taking it away.

Obviously they are unfamiliar with the difference between a vac truck and a tanker.

Originally posted by shots
I have a friend who owns a fuel delivery fleet and he has had GPS installed on all of his trucks since 1999.

Yep, and that is the way that the thieves can beat the system - Unhook the tractor, hook their own tractor up and drive away. The GPS or QualCOMM stays with the original tractor.

JDub

Maybe I just understand the way things work very well around here but I would think that an active thread about two stolen tankers of fuel would not be a BTS subject. That's just my opinon but what do I know? I guess if there is a big explosion in the near future and people ask where the fuel came from we can claim that the topic is mearly old hat to us.