Not so fast, more like 5-10 years under some conditions: http://info.ngwa.org/gwol/pdf/022676595.PDF
Here’s more from the Wikipedia page on methanol economy:
# The medical treatment for methanol ingestion is ethanol ingestion. Therefore, methanol fuel could be made safer by blending with ethanol.
# Methanol is a liquid: this creates a greater fire risk compared to hydrogen in open spaces. Methanol leaks do not dissipate. A methanol-based fire burns invisibly unlike gasoline. Compared to gasoline, however, methanol is much safer. It is more difficult to ignite and releases less heat when it burns. Methanol fires can be extinguished with plain water, whereas gasoline floats on water and continues to burn. The EPA has estimated that switching fuels from gasoline to methanol would reduce the incidence of fuel related fires by 90%.
I don’t understand how Wikipedia and this paper can reach such different conclusions. One of them must be wrong. But which? We all know that Wikipedia is infallible, right? Yeah, right!
But seriously though, I consider Wikipedia to be reasonably accurate on non-controversial topics. That means essentially anything that is not political or religious.