Fights, Arrests Follow Gas Giveaway

[The Straight Story]

Fights, Arrests Follow Gas Giveaway

POSTED: 4:46 pm EDT July 12, 2006
UPDATED: 6:15 pm EDT July 12, 2006

MILWAUKEE -- Two vehicles crashed and four people were arrested in excitement over a gasoline giveaway Wednesday to reward the city for its safe-driving record.

For the most part, hundreds of drivers waited patiently for hours for about $30 worth of free gasoline each that Allstate Insurance provided at one station.

However, some motorists started lining up before midnight and the queue stretched far from the station into a residential area, trapping some residents in their driveways, said police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz.

That led to fights and arrests for disorderly conduct. In one case, three officers were sent to a hospital as a precaution because they were spattered with blood from someone's bloodied nose, Schwartz said.

http://www.local6.com/automotive/9507290/detail.html

[Fountain79]

1. The irony is they probably wasted more gas than they got for

"free".

[benburch]

3. LOL.

My Prius wouldn't.

Even if I had left the engine on all that time. Because it shuts down when the battery is charged and the catalytic converter is hot enough, and only re-starts to run the Air Conditioner compressor when needed, to top off the battery, or to re-warm the converter.

[benburch]

2. Oh dear.

Police should have waved the line away before it got to that.

Or started writing tickets for impeding the flow of traffic.

[The Straight Story]

4. It's just sad to me that it has gotten to this

Giving away free gas in the 90's would have drawn lines as well, it just seems people are more desperate now.

[benburch]

7. Think "Mad Max"

And it is only going to get worse.

[nuxvomica]

5. What a stupid idea!

Said in hindsight, of course, but they should've thought this through. Mailing out gas cards would have been a better idea, IMHO.

[global1]

6. All This Happened Just For A Fun Promotional Event....

just wait until things really get bad.

[lindisfarne]

8. $30 of gas. 8 hours of waiting in line. Less than mininum wage. I've

never understood why people wait in line so long for certain "free" things which aren't even worth the wait.