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Rspradling brings up a good point about open propane tanks. They do have to be open in a propane powered vehicle. But maybe they have additional safeguards (I think not).
Klash - I like what you say and that works for you and used to do this myself, but these discussions help us know all the possibilities, then make our decisions. If we travel with pets in cold climates, their comfort and lives outweigh the problems of an open tank. When we realize that laws were made because one person screwed up real bad, then the rest of us can find a way to safely live around it and hope we don't make that group.
From what I've read about traveling with open propane tanks the big concern is because this means that something else is probably being operated like a furnace, fridge, or water heater. When these devices are in operation, they often use a spark to perform their function. The SPARK is the concern. For tunnels and fuel stations a spark can be a big problem (lingering fumes in the tunnel or at a fuel station). Even if the tanks are turned off, the devices will continue to spark if they are trying to light whatever they are operating and this is the real bad part, so it's more important to turn off the devices not necessarily the tank valves. Some bridges or ferries will have a rule to turn the valves off, just so they don't have to worry about the mishap, but in the open road, I'd prefer to keep the fridge contents cold. (I don't expect I'll ever run the heater or HW when I travel).
The other problems don't seem as probable (leaking hose, leaving a valve open, failing shutoff). Of course, in the event of an accident all bets are off and one will not control whatever happens in that mishap, but this could happen even if not running anything with the tanks.
When I approach a fueling station or a bridge (haven't done this yet and hope I remember) I turn off these devices but leave the propane tanks open. I didn't use to do this but find this is the most convenient in my travels. If I ever get on the ferry with the rig, everything gets turned off.
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