Park it and Shut it down!
Government vehicles burn gas and diesel too and we are paying for it!
Today was Sunday, 22 June 2008. Gasoline
is over $4.00 per U.S.GALLON around L-A. I have been cutting back on my
unnecessary trips with my vehicle. I built a hydrogen generator to improve Gas
Mileage. I added 4 mpg for my efforts. And then I saw it. A STATE of MAINE
license plate 181-953 on the road in front of me. The driver was NOT in any
hurry, just driving on a back street from the Mall, not the highway. How did I
know it was a state plate and a state car? It had www.maine.gov at the bottom of
the plate. The car was a Chevrolet Impala LS. The LS stands for Luxury Sedan. I
can understand maybe the Governor having a Luxury Sedan but this guy? The car
did not appear to be a Police Car. It did not appear to be any kind of emergency
vehicle. No extra antenna(s). I did not stop the vehicle or follow it to it's
destination. What I know is that some state employee is driving around on a
Sunday evening at about 6pm on gasoline that neither I nor you can afford.
2 weeks ago, I had lunch at Wendy's in Lewiston. I drove in and immediately shut
off my vehicle. Wouldn't you? I had lunch and when I left, I walked by a 1-ton
diesel powered dual wheel, big enclosed cargo body (heavy) truck. It had a State
Plate, the driver was in the vehicle having lunch, and the engine was running.
Diesel fuel this week is near $4.80 per gallon. I did not get that plate. I
should have and I will next time. This fellow could have had lunch inside the
air conditioned restaurant and had the truck shut down for that 1/2 hour.
Now then, I have no problem giving a state worker the tools he needs to do his
job. I don't want my tax money being used for personal use. I don't want my tax
money being used when a vehicle is parked for lunch. Are you upset yet? Well I
am and you should be also. The trucking industry used to leave their diesel
engines running all the time until fuel cost went sky high. The independents
shut down their rigs first, and now the big guys are following suit. If a
government vehicle, city or state or federal is running during lunch whether it
uses gasoline or diesel, it should be shut down. I don't care if it's a Fire
Truck, if it's off duty, shut it down. I can appreciate that the State Police
force has officers who take their cars home. If they are subject to being
called, no problem. Give me a legit reason and they will get a pass but that
does not mean that I won't watch. And you should too. Clearly mark the vehicle
so I know that it has a legit reason for cruising the roads after normal
business hours and that vehicle gets a pass from me.
Otherwise, Park it and Shut it down.
Guy R Carrier
Auburn, Maine