DEL.ICIO.USThe Associated Press
Published on: 06/05/08
Bennie Conley gave out his first gallon of gasoline less than an hour into his afternoon shift.
"I didn't get one this early yesterday," Conley said as he helped another driver stranded without fuel alongside Interstate 285 east of Atlanta.
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Conley works for the Georgia Department of Transportation as a HERO or Highway Emergency Response Operator.
With gasoline in many parts of the Atlanta area topping $4 a gallon, the DOT roadside assistance crews are seeing a spike in the number of motorists who run out of fuel.
"The majority of them probably figured they could make it to an exit," Conley said. "Due to the traffic volume when they chose to get on the highway, it just wasn't possible."
A five-gallon canister used to last Conley's entire eight-hour shift. Now, he fills up the tank once, and sometimes twice a day.
On a recent afternoon, Conley gave fuel to about one stranded motorist per hour. Each motorist gets about a gallon or two; just enough to get them to the nearest filling station.
"It's not uncommon for me to run into people who ask for more," Conley said. "That's not possible."
Because taxpayers foot the bill for the fuel Conley and the other crews give out for free, the surge in stalls is taking its toll, according to Georgia DOT communications specialist Monica Luck.
"You've got a five gallon gas container, it used to be you could take five dollars and fill that up," Luck said. "Now, we're having to spend $20 a can."
In Georgia, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.95, slightly less than the national average of $3.98, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.
Conley acknowledges some drivers try to take advantage of the system, but he records the license plate number of every driver he assists to help weed out those taking more than their share.
Conley and the other operators are also under orders to insure their supply of gasoline is locked up when they are not near their vehicles.
During his shift, Conley also responded to an accident that blocked two lanes of the busy interstate, gave a push to a motorist whose car broke down in the center lane and dragged an errant ladder that fell from a construction truck to the side of the road.
The increased demand for emergency fuel can keep him from quickly responding to more serious incidents, he said.
"That's part of the problem, because it might put me out of position to get here as quickly as I did," Conley said after giving an ice pack to a motorist who was slightly injured in the wreck.
But for motorists like Yurobia Carter, who ran dry on his way home from summer school, Conley's big, neon yellow truck is a welcome sight. Carter admitted he delayed filling his tank because of high gas prices and was surprised when Conley helped him out for free.
"We thought they were gonna charge us, but they helped us out," Carter said. "I appreciate that."
For Conley, who said he likes his job because he likes to help people, helping so many drivers who run out of gasoline teaches him an important lesson.
"Once you get off the job and get home, you've got to look at yourself and say, 'I've got to make sure I don't end up in that predicament,'" he said.
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Comments
By Dennis
Jun 7, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this
AAA charges $140 to bring you 1 gal of gas when you run out...
By Gary
Jun 7, 2008 12:40 AM | Link to this
Thanks Michelle for proving everything I said. Your little liberal mind cannot comprehend someone making an honest buck in this country. I agree we need more alternative fuels, but those are realistically years away and right now Congress has not given any incentive to oil companies or auto makers when it comes to biofuel exploration. Thats right you want the free market to work, you need to give someone incentives to do the research. Instead our lovely congress gives away money to rich farmers who don't need it and causes our food prices to go up because of this damn biofuel mandate. Don't mandate it, give incentives to companies who are willing to produce it. Again another economics lesson for you libs out there.
By CNB
Jun 6, 2008 7:48 PM | Link to this
I voted no for HERO units charging for gas. The possibilities of government employees, even the best intended ones (Like HERO employees), of getting in a jam handling public monies is intrinsically a problem. Having said that, if an individual or individual vehicle has more than one such occasion of running out of gas on the interstate, they should be cited and fined, including the price of the gas in traffic court. Not only are they trying to use the system to get free gas, they are creating a serious traffic and safety hazard for other motorists and the HERO employees.
By CNB
Jun 6, 2008 7:47 PM | Link to this
I voted no for HERO units charging for gas. The possibilities of government employees, even the best intended ones (Like HERO employees), of getting in a jam handling public monies is intrinsically a problem. Having said that, if an individual or individual vehicle has more than one such occasion of running out of gas on the interstate, they should be cited and fined, including the price of the gas in traffic court. Not only are they trying to use the system to get free gas, they are creating a serious traffic and safety hazard for other motorists and the HERO employees.
By michelle
Jun 6, 2008 5:30 PM | Link to this
gary, poor gary.
why would i take an economics lesson from a wasteful conservative?...ever heard of an oxy-moron? it's the amurcican way, capitalism that is. i'm absolutely certain that oil would stay in the US consumers' tanks - yes, certain of it. and it's a typical republican approach to fix the disease with a bandaid and not think long-term to end the problem. we should be focusing on alternative fuels, which can be done now if the oil execs didn't have this country by the balls....again, it's all capitalism and who can make the biggest buck right now. screw the future of everyone else, i need to get rich(er) NOW! great mentality.
to sam:
what's political about whether or not the HERO's should charge for gas? i think they should, yet mark's statement of "typical democrat thinking" was what was said, which makes the issue political and it is not. i've got a mind of my own, thanks.
By Gary
Jun 6, 2008 4:12 PM | Link to this
oh and to the other jackass on this page that thinks drilling for more oil is the answer...
Poor michelle, her little government educated liberal mind cannot think outside the box. Look dear, if this country were to open up ANWR, the Gulf Coast, and the nothern Rocky Mountain oil shelves to exploration, then yes our dependence will go down. Why you might ask? Well its simple. The oil companies in the country would be free to explore these areas. The oil they pull will then be moved to their refineries in THIS COUNTRY through pipelines. Once that gas is refined, it will be stored in a truck or piped to stores all across the country. At that moment the oil companies would not have to purchase so much oil from foreign markets to take care of demand. When that happens, then gas prices are lower because the oil companies are spending little to purchase it.
Just a little economics lesson for our fellow liberals.
By Maryanne
Jun 6, 2008 3:22 PM | Link to this
I don't think that the stranded person should have to hand the HERO unit money for a half a gallon of gas. Don't kick someone while they're down.
By pepesme
Jun 6, 2008 2:52 PM | Link to this
I absolutely think that hero units should charge for gas given. If someone has to pay just for the gas, that is a deal. If you had to get the gas yourself, you would have to trek to the gas station and back in the heat. Then you would have to pay for the gas, and a container to carry it in.
By Jerry C
Jun 6, 2008 2:01 PM | Link to this
Sounds like a democrat.........blaming a republican
By Pizen
Jun 6, 2008 1:38 PM | Link to this
Gallon of gas, sir or madam? That will be $5. End of story. If I ran out of gas, and a HERO driver came by with that offer, I'd be all over it. What's my alternative - walk along I-285 with a gas can to the next exit? I wouldn't survive 5 minutes. Now that I think of it, $5 is a bargain.
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