How high do gasoline prices have to go to make people cut back on driving? And how else can you save money on your car trips. AAA’s Jim Hanni takes your questions.

BigPrune

What do you think about the Federal Government cutting the taxes on gasoline (since the taxes generated surpass the profits of “Big Oil” per gallon sold).

timetospeakup

I drive a full sized truck because I do need it as a truck from time to time. I put on a lot of miles where I don’t need a truck. I could afford a second smaller car and would like to get one, but when I have looked at this it nearly doubled my insurance. I can’t drive more than one at once, so are there any insurance companies that recognize this and don’t hit me so hard for having 2 cars?

Moderator

Thanks for joining us for today’s chat with Jim Hanni of AAA. I’m your moderator, 6News Director Cody Howard.

Jim Hanni

It’s great to be here, Cody.

Grump

Have high prices changed driving habits?

Jim Hanni

Not significantly. I believe we saw some movement last spring when we hit a new high around $3.23 a gallon as people shortened trips, took their most fuel-efficient vehicle with them instead, or started combining errands more efficiently, but we have not seen a wholesale change in travel habits or plans as yet.

Moderator

What are the predictions for motorists on roads nationwide for the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday? Do you expect to see gas prices have much of an impact?

Jim Hanni

At this moment it truly is hard to say. Crude oil has come down over the past few days in price, however not all of the recent jump in crude prices before that has been reflected in motor fuel costs which, today nationally, are at an average of $3.10 a gallon. Some analysts say that there is still about 20 cents of increase in the pipeline, so to speak, right now. What happens in the futures market could play a role. If there is an accelerating sell of in oil futures it could greatly ease pressure for higher pump prices in the weeks ahead. It’s impossible to know now whether this will happen given the extreme volatility seen in most of the financial markets the last few weeks.

For now, AAA’s best advice is that motorists should hang on to their wallets as they drive into the holiday season. If prices do in fact hit a new record, they will be prepared for it. If the price of fuel comes down, they will have some extra cash left over for other uses.

Jim Hanni

My typing’s not so good, Cody… I meant to type, “accelerating sell-off…”

Windlass

Disruption in oil production and supply due directly to wars in two countries, Afghanistan and Iraq, are at the heart of these high gas prices so what does driving have to do with it? If one were to drive ten miles to anywhere, how would that be any different from driving 100 or even 1,000 miles to anywhere?

Jim Hanni

Driving a car is just one use of crude oil. So many products and material are created from oil…but as a source of energy it heats our homes, it runs our factories…just about everything is plastic these days and oil is required to make plastic. America is not the only culprit for its uses, too. China and other developing countries around the world have added their appetite for it. My understanding is that about the world requires about 88 million barrels a day of the stuff but our refineries are only able to crank out about 85 million a day. That has an impact on prices, too.

…but to answer the question, anything any of us can do to reduce consumption helps, so it does matter to limit or reduce our driving as individuals.

Moderator

Touching on a topic that’s been in the news this week…how, if at all, does the oil spill in the San Francisco area affect gas prices?

Jim Hanni

It means the supply of oil has been reduced by that many barrels of oil. By itself, it doesn’t impact prices dramatically, but added to a variety of other concerns that appear in the marketplace, it can have an impact. By itself, clearly, if anything, by reducing the supply of oil it puts upward pressure on prices. It certainly does not put downward pressure on prices. It could be neutral news if some other good news is inserted into the marketplace, such as an announcement that OPEC is going to start producing more oil.

lounger

When will the feds start to rate new vehicles with a realistic mpg instead of the current bunch of malarky??

Jim Hanni

I’m with you, lounger. AAA has called for realistic mileage estimates to be posted with new cars. I’m not knowledgeable on the progress of this legislation but I will put in a question now and see if we can get an answer for you. I’ll come back to that.

samsnewplace

Hi Jim, Any predictions on gas prices for us long-distance commuters? Thanks,

Jim Hanni

We normally don’t get into the prediction of what prices are going to do because we certainly don’t have the least bit of control…wish we did!…but our experts are confident enough now with the conventional wisdom to say that we could see $3.30 before year-end. Furthermore, unless something happens to mitigate the demand for oil and motor fuels or change the degree to which supplies flow to us, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that we could see $4 gasoline sometime this coming spring. Historically, annual highs have hit us in late May just before the Memorial Day holiday.

Jim Hanni

Going back to lounger’s earlier question about the prospects for realsitic mileage estimates on new cars, there’s nothing on the horizon right now. There is a continuing dialogue between the automakers, members of Congress, environmental groups and other interested parties such as ourselves but nothing has emerged yet as crafted legislation that may become law.

AAA supports setting Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards that are ambitious enough to require the commitment of auto manufacturers to continued, marked improvements in fuel efficiency but realistic enough to ensure that passenger safety and consumer choice are not compromised.

Revisions to CAFE regulations should result in actual fuel economy improvements that can be achieved by the deployment of a wide range of fuel-efficient technologies. This approach should enhance the consumer choice in vehicle purchase decisions and in determining which vehicle to use for a given trip. AAA believes that the current CAFE program should be expanded to include vehicles up to 10,000 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight.

Moderator

That concludes today’s chat. Our thanks to Jim Hanni of AAA for his time.

Jim Hanni

Thanks for the opportunity to chat with you. You raised very good questions. Our fervent hope is that alternative sources of energy can be developed that can be reproduced without a draw down on our finite natural resources. We know it will happen some day but we must push hard for sooner, than later, and reduce or eliminate our dependence on a natural resource that has so many consequences for our security.