Pump Inspectors Keep Gas Stations Honest
Meet Mark Smith, the man who makes sure a gallon really is a gallon at LA's gas stations
KNBC-TV
With record gasoline prices, it’s important that drivers get what they pay for when they fill up. Mark Smith, part of a team of weights and measures inspectors, shows how he protects the public. Gordon Tokumatsu reports from Downey.
With Southern California gas pumps showing record high prices, it may be more vital than ever that every gallon pumped actually contains a gallon of fuel.
Mark Smith, an inspector with the Los Angeles County Department of Weights and Measures, spends most of his days visiting gas stations – without notice – to check their operations.
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"They’re not allowed to refuse us," Smith said. "They can’t say, ‘Sorry, come back!’ No."
Smith uses a device that could measure a pump’s output within a tablespoon of gasoline.
He admitted these are trying times for drivers as the numbers fly by on the pump’s digital window.
"About six percent of the devices we test, we find a problem with," said Laurence Nolan, of the Weights and Measures Department.
At $4.11 a gallon for regular, a problem can quickly burn a hole in a wallet.
"It’s a good feeling that I’m helping," Smith said.
The department employs roughly a dozen such inspectors every day, fanning out in their specially outfitted trucks checking about 500 pumps a year.
But the department said it gives the highest priority to alerts it receives from the public.
If you suspect a gas pump has been ripping you off, call (800) 665-2900 or (562) 622-0400.
Inspectors said they usually respond to reports within hours.
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