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I don't want to drive anywhere near someone with 1,000 liters of fuel stored in a weak shell. If that ignites and catches fire, anyone nearby could come to a h

I don't want to drive anywhere near someone with 1,000 liters of fuel stored in a weak shell. If that ignites and catches fire, anyone nearby could come to a horrendously, horrendously painful death.

nraynaud 11y ago
Legit oil carrying trucks are everywhere, and they are no real different appart that they hold way more gas in them. As far as I know every single accident involving a volatile liquid carrying truck has led to a fire. There is no real push for double hull or stuff like that in the oil trucking industry. The only safety is segmented tanks, but as far as I know they don't really stop fire propagation (but they stop waves, so they are tremendously useful anyways). edit: of course, you'll have the prepper, the boat enthusiast, the car or truck modder, the american wild lover, and a bunch of other people carrying sketchy home made gas tanks everywhere around you in the land of freedom.
- bonestamp2 11y ago
  > they are no real different appart that they hold way more gas in them Steel tanker trucks must be able to withstand more of an impact without issue than a plastic bladder in a van, no?
  - nraynaud 11y ago
    no, plastic is generally safer. One of the most important safety innovation in cars is the plastic gas tank (as a side note, we are looking for something as transformative for batteries in electric cars), it bends way further than steel before leaking. Normal trucks are not stupid, it's just that past a certain size, only steel can hold the static force of the liquid. There are contradictory factors, you want the cargo to be held firmly in place when you brake, but you want the tank to be accepting a lot of deformation before breaking. I'm not sure, but a secondary concern might be contamination, I'm not sure you can switch liquids in a plastic tank, while you can clean a steel tank.
    - sandworm101 11y ago
      Bigger tanks also flex more. So they need something that won't fatigue as quickly. If it spends its life bouncing down roads, plastic will begin to show cracks at flex points long before steal.
- jimrandomh 11y ago
  There's a major difference: driving one of the legitimate tanker trucks requires a special class of driver's license, which one can't get without extra training and a good driving safety record. (Also, I'm pretty sure you're wrong about every single accident leading to fire. Fender-benders and low-speed collisions do happen.)
- jimbobimbo 11y ago
  For starters, you can see the legit truck carrying flammable payload and steer clear, if you have concerns about your safety. "Bladder trucks" are specifically disguised to prevent you from spotting them.
- mrchicity 11y ago
  A 10 gallon fuel cell in a race car or a 1 gallon portable gas tank sitting on a boat aren't the same as a 500 gallon homemade bladder stuffed into an overloaded passenger car. I honestly can't tell if you're being facetious here. Also, a guy bringing gas home for his lawnmower is doing something useful that justifies the risk somewhat. These guys are purely motivated by greed. There's no good reason to drive these trucks around. -These trucks have no HAZMAT signs to alert first responders to the dangers within. -There is no separation between driver and cargo, so things like smoking or even electrical sparks could ignite the gasoline. -These bladders don't appear to be commercially engineered or fit for this purpose. They could easily leak. -The trucks pictured are running well over their rated payload capacity and are 10+ years old. 500 gallons of gasoline weighs 3125 lbs and even the large Excursion shown is only rated for 1500-2000 including driver and legitimate fuel. -The drivers are incentivized to run away from police at the scene of an accident and their insurance won't cover criminal activity. If a commercial fuel truck catches fire and someone gets injured due to burns, they'd have to pay. -The drivers aren't properly trained for handling hazardous materials. They could do things like stall on railroad tracks and kill hundreds of people. To me, the risk seems much higher than a hobbyist with a custom hot rod or a legitimate tanker truck.

I don't want to drive anywhere near someone with 1,000 liters of fuel stored in a weak shell. If that ignites and catches fire, anyone nearby could come to a horrendously, horrendously painful death.

nraynaud 11y ago

Legit oil carrying trucks are everywhere, and they are no real different appart that they hold way more gas in them. As far as I know every single accident involving a volatile liquid carrying truck has led to a fire. There is no real push for double hull or stuff like that in the oil trucking industry. The only safety is segmented tanks, but as far as I know they don't really stop fire propagation (but they stop waves, so they are tremendously useful anyways). edit: of course, you'll have the prepper, the boat enthusiast, the car or truck modder, the american wild lover, and a bunch of other people carrying sketchy home made gas tanks everywhere around you in the land of freedom.

bonestamp2 11y ago
> they are no real different appart that they hold way more gas in them Steel tanker trucks must be able to withstand more of an impact without issue than a plastic bladder in a van, no?
- nraynaud 11y ago
  no, plastic is generally safer. One of the most important safety innovation in cars is the plastic gas tank (as a side note, we are looking for something as transformative for batteries in electric cars), it bends way further than steel before leaking. Normal trucks are not stupid, it's just that past a certain size, only steel can hold the static force of the liquid. There are contradictory factors, you want the cargo to be held firmly in place when you brake, but you want the tank to be accepting a lot of deformation before breaking. I'm not sure, but a secondary concern might be contamination, I'm not sure you can switch liquids in a plastic tank, while you can clean a steel tank.
  - sandworm101 11y ago
    Bigger tanks also flex more. So they need something that won't fatigue as quickly. If it spends its life bouncing down roads, plastic will begin to show cracks at flex points long before steal.
jimrandomh 11y ago
There's a major difference: driving one of the legitimate tanker trucks requires a special class of driver's license, which one can't get without extra training and a good driving safety record. (Also, I'm pretty sure you're wrong about every single accident leading to fire. Fender-benders and low-speed collisions do happen.)
jimbobimbo 11y ago
For starters, you can see the legit truck carrying flammable payload and steer clear, if you have concerns about your safety. "Bladder trucks" are specifically disguised to prevent you from spotting them.
mrchicity 11y ago
A 10 gallon fuel cell in a race car or a 1 gallon portable gas tank sitting on a boat aren't the same as a 500 gallon homemade bladder stuffed into an overloaded passenger car. I honestly can't tell if you're being facetious here. Also, a guy bringing gas home for his lawnmower is doing something useful that justifies the risk somewhat. These guys are purely motivated by greed. There's no good reason to drive these trucks around. -These trucks have no HAZMAT signs to alert first responders to the dangers within. -There is no separation between driver and cargo, so things like smoking or even electrical sparks could ignite the gasoline. -These bladders don't appear to be commercially engineered or fit for this purpose. They could easily leak. -The trucks pictured are running well over their rated payload capacity and are 10+ years old. 500 gallons of gasoline weighs 3125 lbs and even the large Excursion shown is only rated for 1500-2000 including driver and legitimate fuel. -The drivers are incentivized to run away from police at the scene of an accident and their insurance won't cover criminal activity. If a commercial fuel truck catches fire and someone gets injured due to burns, they'd have to pay. -The drivers aren't properly trained for handling hazardous materials. They could do things like stall on railroad tracks and kill hundreds of people. To me, the risk seems much higher than a hobbyist with a custom hot rod or a legitimate tanker truck.