YA GOTTA KNOW THE TERRITORY. The Chicago Tribune's Becky Yerak enjoys a little cross-border Schadenfreude.

At least it did in Milwaukee earlier this week when two fender-benders occurred, four people were arrested for disorderly conduct, and three policemen were sent to a hospital as a precaution after getting splattered by one person's bloody nose.The occasion for the fuel freebie: Northbrook-based Allstate Corp., the nation's second-largest auto insurer, wanted to reward the citizenry of Milwaukee--for its safe-driving record, no less.

"We've had four events like this over the past two years with more than 2,800 motorists receiving free gas," Allstate spokesman Mike Siemienas said Thursday. "This is the first time that any incident has occurred."

It bears repeating: Milwaukee is the city where residents buy their Christmas cards and replacement lightbulbs on December 26 -- it's worth storing them in cellar or attic for a year to take advantage of the lower prices.

But in Milwaukee, hundreds of drivers waited for hours for a free 10-gallon fill-up that Allstate sprung for at one station. The line, two miles long, spilled into a residential neighborhood, stranding some homeowners in their driveways when they needed to get to work.

A police spokeswoman told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that based on Allstate's past experiences, officers didn't arrive for traffic control until 5 a.m. At least 400 people were lined up before Allstate turned on the pumps at 6 a.m.

The article charitably notes that such traffic jams have occurred in other thrifty regions of the country.