Americans are driving less for the first time in nearly 30 years as they face up to skyrocketing fuel prices, putting a dent in lifestyles in a country where the car has long reigned as king.
Figures released by the Federal Highway Administration show the first drop in almost three decades. Mileage covered by Americans in January fell 1.7 percent compared to the same period of 2007.
It may not be a big reduction, but it is significant given the fact that the national automobile fleet grows an average of two percent annually. The price of a gallon of gas (3.78 liters) remains much lower than in Europe, where it is boosted by significant taxes. But it shot up 59 cents in just two months, and the national average is about to surpass the psychologically important barrier of four dollars per gallon.
While it cost 71 dollars in February to fill up a typical sport-utility vehicle (SUV), which consumes 12 liters of fuel per each 100 kilometers, a similar visit to the gas station in May cost a driver 84 dollars. "High gasoline prices are motivating drivers to conserve by driving less and purchasing more fuel-efficient transportation," said Michael Morris, an official with the Energy Information Administration. Gasoline consumption figures went down in the last two quarters, a decline not seen since 1991.
In the three first months of 2008, consumption dropped 0.6 percent. And it is expected to fall another 0.4 percent this summer compared to the summer of 2007, according to the Energy Information Administration. Price increases at the pump now lead the list of everyday economic worries of Americans, according to a survey conducted the Kaiser Family Foundation.
According to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted May 2-4, eight out of 10 Americans, or 78 percent, are now certain the current spike in gasoline prices is not a temporary fluctuation.
In 2005, 36 percent of respondents believed gasoline prices would eventually fall back to normal, but today 54 percent of those polled think gas prices will go up to six dollars a gallon five years from now. According to the survey, six motorists out of 10 now say they make arrangements with neighbours in planning their trips.
"Some folks begin to appreciate the economic value of carpooling and there is a greatest interest in mass transit options," said Doug Hecox of the Federal Highway Administration. A recent study among members of the American Automobile Association (AAA) in Chicago showed that 76 percent of them try to reduce the number of shopping trips and 24 percent have modified or outright cancelled their vacation plans.
"The consolidating of shopping trips seems like it wouldn't be that big a deal but if on a weekend you're leaving for a family event, a sports game, church, people are also picking up their dry cleaning and going to the grocery store," Nicole Niemi, a spokeswoman for the AAA in Chicago, told The Chicago Tribune.
Newspapers and Internet sites are filled with information and advice about economical driving, and a growing number of websites, like Mapquest Gas Prices, point out stations with cheaper fuel. Meanwhile, the traffic on Mapquest itself has doubled in a year.
American car manufacturers that in April saw their sales of new vehicles drop in two categories have now introduced innovative incentives. Chrysler, which produces gas-guzzling 4X4 Dodge pickup trucks and Jeeps, offer with their new cars a contract to supply gasoline at 2.99 dollars a gallon for three years. And for the first time after the oil crisis of the 1970s, gas tank locks designed to protect motorists from thieves seeking to pump fuel out of their vehicles are again in high demand.
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