There is no hiding what is happening in this video from TikTok creator @dig_it_starnes_. He pulls up to a pump dispensing red dyed diesel, the kind sold for off road and agricultural equipment specifically because it is exempt from federal and state road taxes, and runs it straight into his own truck. He does not dress it up or pretend it is something else. He talks through the math out loud, laying out roughly how much he is saving per gallon by skipping the road tax built into on-highway diesel prices, and weighs that savings against what happens if he gets caught.

The video works because of that bluntness. He is not claiming a loophole or arguing the law should not apply to him; he is openly weighing a real cost benefit tradeoff on camera, which is a far more interesting admission than the usual content that either hides this practice or pretends it carries no risk at all.

@dig_it_starnes_

Red dye is added to off road diesel specifically so that fuel tax enforcement officers can identify it on sight or with a simple fuel sample test, without needing to trace paperwork back to a specific pump or purchase. The federal excise tax on diesel used on public highways currently sits at 24.4 cents per gallon, and most states layer their own additional diesel tax on top of that, which is why dyed diesel, exempt from both, is sold at a noticeably lower price per gallon. That price gap is exactly what tempts truck owners into using it in a vehicle that is also driven on public roads, which is illegal regardless of how the truck is otherwise used.

The penalties are not symbolic. The IRS can assess a civil penalty of 10 dollars per gallon of dyed fuel found in the tank of a vehicle operated on public highways, with a minimum penalty of 1,000 dollars per violation regardless of how little fuel is actually involved, and that penalty applies on top of the back taxes owed. States with their own dyed fuel enforcement programs frequently add their own fines on top of the federal penalty, and repeat violations can escalate quickly, including potential criminal charges in some states for larger scale or repeated misuse. Enforcement officers can and do pull commercial and non-commercial trucks for roadside fuel inspections specifically looking for this, and a dipstick test that comes back pink or red is difficult to argue around.

Run the math the way the video does, and the actual savings rarely justify the exposure. Even at a generous estimate of 40 to 60 cents saved per gallon between on-highway and dyed diesel pricing in a given region, a typical truck’s fuel tank holds roughly 25 to 35 gallons, putting the total savings per fill somewhere around 15 to 20 dollars. A single roadside fuel inspection that turns up dyed fuel can erase months, or years, of that savings in one penalty. The video does not pretend otherwise, which is likely why it has drawn as much attention as it has: it treats a quiet, common practice as the real financial gamble that it actually is.