I know it’s the popular thing to complain about how outrageous gas prices have become, but when push comes to shove, are you really doing anything about it? Unfortunately, according to an article published on SignOnSanDiego.com, most of us are eager to complain about gas prices, yet we’re still unable to change our driving habits.
In the SignOnSanDiego.com article, written by Penni Crabtree, it states:
“A recent study that Christopher Knittel, an economics professor at the University of California Davis, helped write showed that every time gasoline prices went up 20 percent from November 1975 to November 1980, consumers changed their driving behavior by cutting gasoline consumption by 6 percent per capita nationwide.
“But from March 2001 to March 2006, drivers reduced consumption by just 1 percent when gas prices rose 20 percent.”
When I read this article, it made me think about a poll I ran a while back which asked, “When the price of gas was averaging above $3 per gallon, did you change your driving habits?” in which nearly half of the respondents stated that they didn’t change their driving habits in the face of record high gas prices.
This leads me to believe one of two things:
- Most of us are in good enough shape financially to be able to withstand a prolonged spike in gas prices.
- Most of us absolutely cannot function without gasoline. Whether it’s driving to work or taking the kids to soccer practice, we need to use gas.
Unfortunately, I think it’s probably more of the second item than the first, which makes perfect sense. Most of us complain about the higher gas prices – reducing the likelihood that the increase in prices doesn’t have much of a financial impact - yet most of us don’t change our driving habits – probably because we simply CAN’T change them.
Long story short, we’re addicted to gas and it doesn’t look like there’s going to be any relief any time soon.