State Performs Random Gas Inspections

As summer travel season heats up and gas prices inch higher, the state is boosting the number of random gas inspections to make sure drivers are getting what they pay for.

Gigi Barnett reports random gas checks are how state inspects will keep track of what drivers are buying at the pump. What's collected at the pump goes back to a lab for testing.

"If we didn't do the testing, consumers would simply be thrown to the wolves and the industry would have only a passing interest in making sure that the product was as high quality as possible all the time," State Comptroller Peter Franchot said.

Franchot's office is in charge of inspecting gas stations. He's ordered more inspections since the summer travel season begins on the July 4, and some drivers fear the gas they're buying may not meet inspection.

"I've heard from friends who have felt that they were short changed by not getting the correct quantity of what they're paying for," driver John Enyoko said.

A big complaint this summer is water-downed gas, but inspectors say when they test the product, they find that most gas stations pass inspection.

"When people leave and they go on vacation, and their car stops by the road side because it's got bum gas, if that happened frequently, we would have people climbing the barricades," Franchot said.

Inspectors say another reason to boost gas inspections is the increasing price of the product, which is causing some drivers to skip the trip.

"We're not going to travel this year. [We're going to] pay off the bills and just stay home," driver Larry Phelps said.

So far this year, about 93-percent of all the gas stations in Maryland have been tested.

Full Article