The Deepwater Horizon oil spill-also referred to as the BP oil spill or the Gulf of Mexico oil spill-flowed unabated for three months in 2010. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. Those who experienced the devastating oil spill know first hand the frustrations that followed.
Now in no way am I comparing what happened in my garage a few months ago to this spill, but as a guy who takes pride in a clean and orderly shop, I wasn't thrilled at what I saw when I backed out one winter morning.
My truck had developed a little oil leak, but it was nothing I was too concerned about. I put down an old cardboard box and as long as I kept her topped off and I didn't let my Ford F250 Super Duty 7.3L mark any driveways, I wasn't going to dwell on it too much. After all, it's not exactly uncommon for a diesel truck to leak a little oil.
But one morning after a hard cold start that must have given my Mean Green starter a good workout, I pulled out of my garage and noticed a nice sea of oil on my floor. I kept the truck moving and got it to the street as fast as I could, but it was too late. I had already left an oil trail across my driveway. The thought of explaining to my wife why we now have an oil trail across our driveway wasn't as scary as trying to figure out what just happened with my truck that just a day earlier was running great.