I’ve noticed cars have been driving more slowly, both on freeways and surface streets. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that I’ve noticed cars driving more slowly as gas prices increase. Where I live (in the San Francisco Bay Area), gas prices have already broken the $4.00 per gallon mark in nearly every station I drive by. I never thought I’d get excited for $3.00 gas so soon. If you’re unlucky enough to need supreme, gas prices are starting to approach $4.50 per gallon. What’s even scarier is that we haven’t even reached the infamous summer gas price spike.
I remember not too long ago when you would see people driving like maniacs. Don’t get me wrong, I still see some crazy drivers on the road, but I’ve noticed there are fewer and fewer with increasing gas prices. People are accelerating more slowly, and they aren’t racing down the roads and freeways like they once were. I read that driving a car more conservatively can increase gas mileage as much as 20 percent to 30 percent. Can you imagine getting four to six miles more per gallon? In a 20 gallon tank, that equates to 80 to 120 miles more of driving before filling up. At $4.00 per gallon, that’s a pretty substantial savings.
With people driving more slowly (and hopefully saver), I wonder if accident rates have improved at all.
I have to say that I’ve been keeping my speeds slightly lower - I reckon the time saving of driving 5-10mph faster isn’t worth the extra cost!
I have definitely been more aware of the amount that I have been driving and the speed. But I think that something bigger than a possible decline in accidents is at hand. I think that the increase in gas prices is having some other environmentally positive consequences. I have noticed that more people are carpooling, whether to work or going out. And even more, I have noticed more people taking advantage of public transportation. I live in Madison, and many people utilize the Madison Metro bus system, and even more now that gas prices are rising up to $4.00 a gallon. This consolidation is promising for people to understand the importance of public transit, and the economic and environmental impact of gas and oil.
Jackie, you bring up great points with public transportation and carpooling. I notice that my commute is definitely much lighter. In fact, I try to carpool once a week myself.
My hope is that money will be diverted from short term fuel and energy needs and into improving the public transportation systems around the country (and world).