Earlier this week, the National Council on Weights and Measures reported that as fuel prices at the pump rise, so do the number of complaints received by state weights and measures officials. Interestingly, the phenomenon seems to be limited to gasoline consumers - truckers are unaffected.


"The last diesel complaint we had was a few months ago," said Kenneth Ramsburg of the Maryland Department of Agriculture. "The road sign was not being updated."

According to Ramsburg, the weights and measures department will receive a barrage of complaints, five or more, when prices jump 5 to 10 cents in day. Things return to normal until the next jump.

Although there were no definitive conclusions as to why, the council's report speculated that as prices go up, consumers pay closer attention when gassing up. However, more complaints do not mean more violations in most states. In the last two months, the Minnesota Department of Commerce received a 10 percent increase in complaints, but no increase in violations.

"We have about a 95 percent rate of compliance," said Mark Buccelli, director of Weights and Measures in Minnesota, adding that many rejections have to do with leaky hoses rather than short-selling pumps. Out of the last 50 complaints he received, only one was about diesel.

Truckers, it seems, may have a better understanding of fuel price fluctuations than the average consumer.