CHESAPEAKE - Theft at the pumps is again on the rise almost as quick as gas prices themselves.

Lawrence County is no exception as gasoline soared to $3.09 a gallon last week and continues to hover around the $3 mark.

Gasoline thefts cost retailers $237 million last year and industry experts believe it will be much worse this year due to record breaking prices.

"We have noticed a drastic increase in drive-offs," Sgt. Bill Murphy of the Proctorville Police Department said. "It's all the time now, especially at Speedway in Proctorville."

One in every 1,100 fill-ups was a gas theft last year, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores, which projects drive-offs will increase if prices stay this high.

Sergeant Murphy said he believes it will get worse until the gas process go down. He said the majority of the incidents occur during rush hour or late in the evening.

"With the gas prices so high, you're going to see a lot of drive-offs," said Dave Bennett owner of Dave's Citgo in Chesapeake and Dave's Citgo No. 2 on State Route 7.

Bennett said that they have experienced drive-offs at their Chesapeake location, although they have never had two during one shift.

Bennett said a lot of the time, he thinks that the drive-offs are an honest mistake due to the pay-at-the-pump machines.

People think they are paying with their credit cards, but the card has not been approved, and they fill up and drive away, Bennett said. However, that is not always the case.

Bennett said he is thinking of purchasing walkie-talkies for his employees who work outside at the pumps to better communicate with the employees inside, just as a precaution.

"This week, we haven't had any drive-offs, and we've been extremely busy," he said.

Dave's Citgo No. 2 was built three years ago and equipped with a way to deter would be drive-offs -the "Drive-in Effect."

Bennett explained that when you drive into the station, the vehicle is faced only so that the employees can read the license plate on the vehicle and they write them all down.

Bennett said they have not had any experiences with theft at the pumps at that location.

As prices still soar, many people agree that drive-offs are going to increase, and that is going to effect everyone that pays at the pump.