Cutting Risk of Tanker Accidents Starts with Conservation Habits

Since last weekend’s horrific explosion and freeway collapse caused by a gasoline tanker, most of the blame has fallen on the driver, but it’s important to remember that the gasoline, which was headed toward a station on Hegenberger Road, had all of our names on it. The accident is a reminder that those of us who use gasoline -- virtually everyone -- play small parts in an enormous and largely invisible trade in toxic, flammable fuels.

The risks seem counterintuitive because gasoline has become an integral part of Americans’ safety strategies. Wanting to feel secure while driving, we’ve bought bigger, heavier cars -- which happen to use more gas. Seeking what some consider safer communities, we’ve bought homes in farther suburbs and incidentally acquired long, gasoline-intensive commutes. Frequently we compensate for the long commute by buying a bigger vehicle and using still more gas.

Since the early ‘90s Americans have increased the amount of gasoline we consume by a steady 1 to 2 percent a year. Underneath the predictability of our gasoline-intensive lives, we’re riding a river of risk.

No driver has time to consider the potential costs of the gas they’re buying at the pump, but every gallon of oil we purchase contains an imperceptible roll of the dice, raising the odds of a spill. If we stopped to think about it, we might be surprised by the gamble we’re making.

On weekends, many of us in the Bay Area drive to Marin to hike and enjoy the view, but our appreciation of the bay brings with it a cost. Every day, tanker ships containing 33 million gallons of crude oil glide below the Golden Gate Bridge and toward Bay Area refiners, who send it on to your local gas station.

These tankers -- and our consumption -- put the bay at risk. One model of potential oil spills in San Francisco Bay found that a relatively small spill of 3 million gallons -- about a fourth the size of the 11 million gallon Exxon Valdez -- could cause as much as half a billion dollars in damage to the shoreline, ecosystems and the economy.

And it’s not only tankers that spill oil -- simply parking your car is an environmental hazard. A 2002 National Academy of Science report found that leaks from U.S. cars, trucks and boats add 19 million gallons of oil products to waterways every year.

Using increasing amounts of gasoline has turned us into a group of unwitting daredevils. Between 2000 and 2006, Californian drivers increased their gasoline use by 1.37 billion gallons a year, which means more ships carrying oil are entering the bay; and pipelines, some built generations ago, are filled near capacity. But the real impact of those extra gallons is felt by the gasoline truckers: This year, California truckers will make 159,000 more gasoline deliveries than in 2000. As you’re driving, you’re more likely to see these trucks next to you on the freeway, each carrying 8,600 gallons of gasoline -- the equivalent of about 400 tons of TNT.

Over the next 13 years, many more tankers will come onto our highways if Californians increase the amount of fuel we use by the projected 50 percent or so. As we get into our cars and start the morning commute, few of us will feel like we’ve gone to Las Vegas, but we will be playing against increasing odds.

The oil industry measures the probability of spills by the amount of oil being shipped. Between 1980 and 2003, tanker trucks spilled about 37 gallons for every billion ton miles they hauled, according to oil spill analyst Dagmar Schmidt Etkin. (A ton-mile means that they’ve carried 294 gallons of oil for a mile.)

Of course, Sunday’s spill might not have been a random roll of the dice -- authorities said the driver appears to have been speeding. But his actions occurred in an environment of increasing pressure to deliver gas though an increasingly crowded infrastructure.

Americans tend to regulate the oil industry by accident -- that is, after an accident, we propose regulations. Already, policymakers want to prevent people with some kinds of criminal records from getting licenses to haul hazardous materials. A more effective strategy would be to consider the number of drivers and trucks we’re going to need to ship all of the fuel we’ll require in the coming years, and factor in the stress they’ll be under to make deliveries on time.

It would be far smarter to equip tanker trucks with electronic monitors to immediately identify (and discipline) drivers who speed or drive dangerously. The state should perform better oversight of the trucks, and scour company records to make sure drivers are not working very long hours.

Ultimately, though, a truly safer lifestyle for all Californians requires much bolder action to reduce the amount of fuel we use.

Californians are used to "Spare the Air" days and the electricity conservation program "Flex Your Power," and with strong state leadership, we could reduce gas consumption by 3 percent over the next three years with continuing reductions far into the future.

Some changes would be pleasant -- we could shrink consumption by 1.7 percent by changing the timing on traffic signals, saving drivers time and stress by reinstating an old and successful fuel conservation program from the 1980s.

Starting an "eco-driving" campaign could train drivers to save fuel and money with the cars they already own while reducing the state’s fuel consumption by as much as 5 percent. Retrofitting the state’s trucking fleet to use more efficient tires could save half a percent. Changing city and state government planning priorities could save still more, as could starting public-private partnerships to encourage vanpooling and more efficient transportation.

The benefits of conservation would far outweigh the costs. For every 1 percent we reduce consumption, we’ll eliminate the need for 18,600 tanker trip deliveries, free up pipeline space and keep oil tanker ships away from our shores. What’s more, we’ll clear the air, avoid producing greenhouse gases, clear up some traffic jams, save money and probably create jobs.

Ironically, the only way to increase our safety is to give up the false security of using more gasoline and regulating after the fact. Instead, we need to behave more like professional gamblers, coolly assessing the odds on the table and adjusting our game accordingly: There is simply no way we win by using more gasoline.