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Fuel Hoarder Buys Almost $1,700 Worth of Fuel, Loses It on the Street, Gets Fined

A moment of nationwide “gas rush” led to many people making rash decisions that they later regretted. As you may have read earlier today, things started from a photo shared on Facebook, and people began panic-buying gas and diesel. One of them got hit by karma in his fuel hoarding.
Plastic tank abandoned on the road in front of gas station in Tecuci, Romanai 6 photos
Photo: ISU Galati
Men filling up big canisters with fuelMan filling up brandy canisters with fuelMan getting extra gas in small bottlesThe Photo that Sparked a Nationwide 'Gas Rush'Men filling up a big reservoir with fuel
We have all laughed seeing photos of people attempting to fill up laundry baskets with fuel, as well as plastic buckets (with no lid, nonetheless – that would not help, though), along with other irresponsible things being done by drivers attempting to save a couple of bucks while panic-buying fuel.

One person, yet to have his identity revealed, managed to become a laughingstock after having bought about 1,000 liters of diesel fuel (ca. 254 US gallons), but having it dumped in the street from a foolish mistake.

Apparently, the unnamed person from the town of Tecuci, eastern Romania, used a flatbed truck to transport a large plastic container that he had filled with fuel in a gas station.

According to Digi24, he managed to fill the container with a capacity of almost 254 gallons, which means he spent about 7,600 to 8,000 RON (ca. $1,691 to $1,780) on diesel in an attempt to save money. Which he obviously did not. 

First, the problem is that regular plastic receptacles are forbidden for depositing fuel, so the employees of the gas station should have never let him use such a container for any kind of fuel.

As you can imagine, nobody stopped him, and he drove off into the street. Somehow, the plastic tank got overturned, possibly from falling from the flatbed, and spilled all the fuel on the road when it cracked.

Now, you begin to see why it is not a good idea to use just any plastic receptacles as fuel containers? That is just one of the issues with them, though, so please never use household plastic containers to store or transport fuel, as it may lead to a fire or an explosion, but the smallest risk is a leak of diesel.

According to witnesses, the unnamed citizen stopped his vehicle immediately, looked at the spill he caused, and eventually fled the area as if nothing had happened.

The problem is that the incident took place near a refueling station, where there are plenty of cameras good enough to help ID someone, not to mention their vehicle, and a 1,000-liter fuel receipt cannot go unnoticed.

Authorities are investigating the matter, and both the driver and the refueling station will be fined for breaking the law – each in their own right. Most likely, the spill occurred because the metallic frame that held the massive plastic tank was not tethered to the trailer it was placed on.

Now that's an expensive life lesson, as a fine will be next after losing $1,700 worth of fuel that was acquired at about $6.5 a gallon. Dads across the world are shaking their heads right now because the driver forgot to tether the tank, not to mention forgot to say, "that isn't going anywhere."

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Editor's note: For illustration purposes, the photo gallery shows other images from last night's fuel rush.

About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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