Gasoline Prices Falling - Still Driving The Same?
When gasoline prices started a rapid, noticeable increase, my spouse and I both started driving differently. I made a much more conscious decision to try and combine trips and generally drive less whenever possible, while my spouse started looking at websites about hypermiling and tried to increase his gas mileage that way. He had mixed results with that (since I drive his car too, I blame me and my total disinterest in the subject) but he has been keeping a journal and trying to find trends to help him improve his mileage.
Now that gas prices are falling, are we keeping it up? My spouse is still hypermiling and doing a good job of at least trying to reduce his gas consumption. Since he mostly just drives to work and back and we don’t have public transportation he can take instead, reducing his actual driving would take very big steps, so this is his way of cutting down on costs. And he’s kept it up even with falling gas prices.
I’ve been trying to keep up with driving less, and I still do drive less than when I started consciously reducing trips and combining errands. But I find it a little easier to let myself deviate and take side trips, or go back out if I forget a stop on my errand route. I have been able to do almost all my grocery shopping and errands for the past several months on my way to and from work which also cuts down on my driving. But I could do a lot better, and for a while, I did do a lot better.
So I’m resolving to try to ignore gas prices, and get back into the habit of avoiding driving altogether if possible. I don’t know how well I’ll do, but I am going to track it by the number of miles I drive. Hopefully I can knock it down a few hundred this month from last.
Did you change your driving habits in the past year as the direct or indirect result of the price of gasoline? Did the changes stick or are you slowly sliding back into your old habits?
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November 3rd, 2008 at 6:23 am
I was making a concious effort to use less gas for years before the price of gas went up. Then, this spring, I traded my old station wagon in for a new car which us using 40 percent less gas. As the price of gas goes down, I am still trying to keep fuel consumption as low as possible. It is a game to pass the time in the car, much like counting road signs or VW Beetles when making road trips as a kid.
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:53 am
When the price of gas took the first big jump I dropped several activities the kids and I were doing. We haven’t rejoined and I don’t plan to. However, I don’t feel as guilty if I want to take a field trip type outing with them on the other side of town. We live on the outskirts of Charleston, SC and most of the interesting / educational places are 40 minutes away. Our week to week driving is still much lower than before the spike. When the kids are old enough for school there will be some increase, but like a commute sometimes the drive is unavoidable.
November 3rd, 2008 at 8:19 am
I’m still driving a lot less impulsively. My motivation is that we’re trying to get all our expenses under one income comfortably.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:05 am
We drive an 08′ so we are fairly fuel efficient. So to be honest we never changed our driving habits that much at all. A tank of gas lasts us 7 days if the gas is $4 oh something or $2.69.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:18 am
I think this is a great point. I was so surprised when at the beginning of the huge increases in gas prices one of my friends said he was glad gas was getting so high, because it would force people to take a look at the status quo and make important changes. And it seems that is the case. Not just on a personal level, even auto manufacturers had to really look at what they are producing and make adjustments. It has forced us as a nation to start making better choices. I hope we all can continue in that direction, even as prices come down.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:28 am
I started taking the bus to work when gas prices increased and I’ll continue to take it. It’s still less expensive and has just become part of my normal routine.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:02 am
That’s a great idea. You’ll be saving even more money to snowflake if you keep your driving habits lowered and keep trying to lower your gas usage.
Mr Chiot’s and I try to combine trips and drive less overall as well. We also try to make sure we combine all of our trips into one that’s a business expense, then we can deduct the mileage from our taxes. Every littl bit helps the bottom line!
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:15 am
I was thinking the same thing recently. I’m holding onto the thought that this gas price decrease is temporary. I continue think about the gas I’m using on a daily basis.
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:04 am
i have always been a “combine errands into one trip” kind of person, so even thought gas prices went up, i didn’t change my habits much — although i learned about hypermiling. now that prices have dropped i’m still combining trips. but i still think of gas prices as being high — so it’s amazing now when i fill my tank for less than $40. but i think it’s temporary.
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:46 am
I’ve had a similar experience to the one Rhonda, above, has had. The only difference was that I was the friend, or in my case, the nephew.
My Aunt was shocked by a statement I made one day, shortly after the gasoline spike, when I said that one of the best things that could happen for our country was if gas prices went to $10/gallon. I realize that this is NOT a popular idea/belief. My reasoning?
Well, everytime I go out, I see that the streets of the city I live in are clogged with traffic and angry drivers behind the wheel. I see a public funded, under used bus system with few riders on it. When I go into the store, I see severely obese adults with their obese children in tow. They are usually heading down the Pepsi and Doritos isle. Then I go into the parking lot and see obese people using the disabled spots to park at the front of the building.
What if gas were $10/Gallon? Would adult hypertension (high blood pressure) be drasticly reduced from far fewer drivers, angry or not, on the road? Would all people’s overall health improve due to the significant reduction in air pollution no longer being blown into the sky everyday? Would we no longer have one of the highest adult and child obesity rates in the world because everyone would be forced to walk/bicycle/ride the no longer underused public busing system? I really believe this.
Again, I realize this is not a popular idea and will probably gain me some scorn even in this particular outlet, but what if gas was $10/Gallon? Think about how you and your family would benefit. That’s my 2-cents.
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Like a lot of things it’s hard to keep up extreme measures without some overwhelming reason. Some things for us have become habitual, though, like consolidating trips and a bit of hypermiling. We bought a [used] Prius just before fuel (and used Prius) prices went through the roof. One of it’s cool features is a dynamic readout of mpg, so instant feedback. Our other car doesn’t have this and I find I drive less carefully in it!
I do wonder if at some point soon OPEC will do the same it did back in the early 80’s and flood the market for a short period of time to lull folks back into old habits!
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Oh, and the one thing I think we won’t see is grocery prices dropping. I’ve read this is called “sticky prices”, and unless competition kicks in there’s no reason for grocers to drop prices and reduce their profits. Ugh.
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Well, I’ve lost 60 pounds riding my bike instead of driving a car and I’m keeping it off. I know very well what would happen if I got a car, and I have no intention of putting that weight back on.
Besides, I’d rather have my money in a CD at the bank.
November 3rd, 2008 at 2:02 pm
I started a carpool with three co-workers who live in the same part of town, so we each drive 1 week of the month and therefore cut that consumption to 25% of a normal month. My wife and I also switched cars so that she’s using the more fuel efficient vehicle for her daily driving and the less fuel efficient vehicle is sitting unused much more often.
November 3rd, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Eventhough gas prices are falling, I still find myself checking out electric mopeds/scooters and bikes. I do drive a Prius but I still feel that I could be doing more.
November 3rd, 2008 at 3:45 pm
My driving didn’t change much to start with, always frugal with the miles, and so it hasn’t changed now that prices dropped (which we all know is temporary…)
My frugalness has more to do with the mileage on the car than the gas price. I’ve got 114,000 miles on an 8 hr old Forester, and I want the car to last til I die, so… I try not to use it too much. I also have a 35 yr old Datsun pickup - and I do find that I am driving it more often, about the same mileage - 25 mpg- just to save the wear and tear on the car.
But in either case, if I really want to drive somewhere, I go. I rarely use even 2 tanks of gas a month tho between the two.
November 3rd, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I’m still driving less. I think I was wreckless with the amount of gas I wasted. I’m rethinking it all.
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I consider the drop in gas prices to be a little raise for me. $1.99 where I live now. I can fill my tank for $20 and am saving about $10-15 per week compared to before. I can use that for bills and savings!
My reduced driving is staying the same. Whenever I go out, I make a circle with no backtracking and get everything done at once.
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Better be careful with changing back. I predict this drop in gas prices is temporary. Besides, driving less or more consciously is not only better for the pocketbook, it’s also better for the environment!
November 4th, 2008 at 4:48 am
This fall we’ve seen a bunch of changes in our driving habits. First of all, hubby started biking to work (the office moved closer to us) and I started driving the car every day instead of 3 days per week.
But this was because our daughter started kindergarten and the school is more than 60 blocks away. It would be 3 buses and about 45 minutes at a minimum to use transit, not to mention I have to get to work at pretty much the same time. So I drive, it takes about 20 minutes and then I drive to work (about another 10 minutes). Then I pick her up from school at 4 pm (the same drive in reverse).
I think we’re still doing better than before, because of the distance that my hubby used to drive. And we’re definitely going to our rural home less right now, no matter what gas prices do, so we’ll save at least $60 this month right there.
November 4th, 2008 at 8:55 am
I just keep on trying to keep all my costs down– as much as I can within reason– gas is one that is easier for me. I do have to have gas for work and some grocery shopping but I don’t use much more except for special planned trips to see relatives.