Running On Empty: Cars Litter Roadways As Run Out of Gas

Earthfirst :

$4 per gallon does suck. Don't get me wrong, we're happy that high gas prices are forcing people to cut back on driving, ditch their SUVs and invest in renewable energy. That's the positive side of the coin. On the other side, people really are pinched and having a hard time coming up with the cash to fill their tanks up all the way. As a result, the streets are littered with cars as people are running out of gas more frequently.

From The Huffington Post:

Though national statistics on out-of-gas motorists don't exist, there's plenty of anecdotal evidence that drivers unwilling or unable to fill 'er up are gambling by keeping their tanks extremely low on fuel.

In the Philadelphia area, where the average price for a gallon of regular broke $4 on Friday, calls from out-of-gas AAA members doubled between May 2007 and May 2008, from 81 to 161, the auto club reported.

"The number one reason is they can't stretch their money out from week to week," said Gary Siley, the AAA mobile technician who helped Saba.

"Some of them are embarrassed. ... They say, 'I was trying to make it till Friday,' and they couldn't do it," said Siley, who has assisted numerous out-of-gas motorists.

No doubt, putting $30 worth of gas into your car only to see it barely creep out of 'Low on Gas' is unpleasant, and it's a growing reality for many people in America. We've budgeted for driving personal vehicles to be fairly affordable, so now that it's getting out of reach, we're having a hard time adjusting.

It's time to start putting pressure on our local and state governments to get better public transit programs going. Even if you can afford gas easily, or don't personally deal with it because you don't drive often, helping out those people who are truly hurt by gas prices is a great cause. Another option is to offer to share gas expenses with friends and family by carpooling as often as possible - to work, to the grocery store, to the movies. As cheesy and cliched as it may sound, coming together can really help as all through the transition from the age of oil into an age of sustainable forms of energy.

Read the whole story: Earthfirst

Comments

[Obamican7]

Vote the Obama/Nuttcups ticket.

[ImmanuelGoldstein]

The journey of a thousand miles can be reduced to a thousand steps.

http://www.carfree.com/
http://www.carbusters.org/index.php

[ImmanuelGoldstein]

I expect next they will be actually abandoned by the roadside as people who are 'upside down' on their SUV loan simply refuse to fill the thing up anymore.

[iPolitics]

This is the McCain-Bush economic policy at work

[maddie0001]

Why doesn't this happen in Canada and Europe where gas is more expensive than it is here?

[ImmanuelGoldstein]

Because the entire European system has been designed under the assumption that the cheap petrol party can't last forever and has put a high priority on policies which promote high petroleum use.

Europe has better rail , mass transit, less sprawl. They also put their money into maintaining the normal roads they have rather than building more and more road they don't want to pay the taxes to maintain.
America could have done this and prepared for this but now events are going to force changes on us.

You say you want change? HOW MUCH CHANGE CAN YOU TAKE?

[ImmanuelGoldstein]

ur , that should be 'don't promote high petroleum use'.

[ImmanuelGoldstein]

"Drive Less" sounds like good advice. But for my part I don't think most people's gas consumption is spent going out and driving around in circles. We have spent the last 50 years building a society that is more or less designed to require cars. "Im not going to work because gas is pricey:? Doesn't work like that.
We have to start building a society that doesn't require you own a car. In in which a car is an actual luxury item not a necessity. And we are at least 30 years overdue for than conversation, so we better start NOW.

[KillTheMessenger]

There are pretty good models for how such a society might look like. If you can, visit Singapore. There is a 100% import tax on cars and gas is outrageously expensive, too. Only the rich and cab drivers can afford a car. But there are buses everywhere at almost any time and cab fares are reasonable. The population density of 17,000 people per square mile does not feel stuffy thanks to the many 20 story apartment buildings. The units I have seen have large windows and balconies and were quite nice. As a pedestrian, I wouldn't mind living there at all.

[GrayOwl]

With prices rising as fast as they are, there is a sound argument to keeping the tank filled at today's price, not next week's price. It will simply cost more later -- at least until the government, or some entity, solves this problem.

[Falconjim]

The question then is: "Does the extra weight of a full tank reduce mileage enough to offset the price increase."

At the rate gas is going up lately (20 cents per gallon per week), it is probably better to keep it full. If the price levels off any time this year, it is probably slightly sheaper to carry less weight than to keep it full.

[niqui]

But there's another sound argument for not filling the tank -- what if you don't get paid for another few days, and you're out of cash until then? Running out of gas is not likely to be just a hedge against higher prices, for many. Besides, at this point I think many, if not most, folks must be disheartened enough at this point to realize that the odds favor those who fill up earlier rather than later.

[Sumocat]

"Some of them are embarrasse­d..." -- Really? Only some? I'd think they'd all be embarrassed for not knowing you spend less on gas by driving less, not by going to the gas station less. Cause and effect, people. Lowering gas usage means fewer trips to the gas station, not the other way around.

[pithy]

I live in upstate New York. The nearest public transportation is a bus system 15 miles from my home that doesn't go anywhere near my work. The supermarket is 12 miles from my home - 24 miles round-trip to get a box of oatmeal.

I combine every trip, never go on sight-seeing jaunts, never just jump in the car and cruise off to the drug store (20 miles round trip) because I decide I need some Rolaids.

My car is fuel efficient, but my gas costs have gone from around $30 a month to $100 a month since the Oil Barons took over.

There's not another mile I can cut and still live my spartan life.

[ImmanuelGoldstein]

My advice is you pick out a small urban center near you to move to soon. The price of transportation is going to make your lifestyle unviable for anyone but the very well off. There is going to be an exodus of people like yourself to these centers soon as the reality of high gas prices sets in.

[Sumocat]

How many times have you been stuck on the side of the road with no gas? Do you think fewer trips to the gas station will cut the amount you pay on gas? If you answered in the negative to both, then my comment does not apply to you, though you could be embarrassed for not knowing that.