Higher Gas prices = Better Drivers? I hope gas goes up

General Discussion
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Speeders and fast drivers are a major pet peeve of mine. I drive the speed limit, its there for a good reason.

I hope Gasoline goes up! Let it hit 6-10 bucks a gallon!

… WHAT YOU SAY???

Wait… one benefit of the high gas prices is that it might improve safety by getting people to slow down to conserve gas. (slower speeds = better fuel economy).

Or so I thought, because one thing I’ve noticed is that Americans don’t seem interested in easing off the accelerator to save gas in their vehicles.

I hear a lot of people squawking about the high prices at the pump, but people still buy their gas-guzzling SUVs, they still drive a quarter-mile to buy a gallon of milk, and they still put the pedal to the floor even when there’s a red light 100 feet ahead.

When gas gets around 4.50 a gallon the people who are complaining the most are the ones that are driving Escalade EXT’s, Suburbans, and Excursions doing 85mph, and expecting to get 40mpg from them. They’re usually the same people with a phone in one hand, coffee in the other and nobody else in the car. \

Gasoline is too cheap, we take it for granted, we do not attempt to conserve it and we waste it at an alarming rate.

I would like to see Gasoline at about 6-10 dollars a gallon, That would make prices of almost anything rise, but it may convince some people to live a simpler life. People speed everywhere in 15 mpg suvs and race red light to red light to go to the mall, people drive like idiots and if gas prices went up many people would start slowing down and we would have less traffic deaths.

Many people would use bicycles instead and this over weight country could shed some pounds and look what we would save in healthcare costs by having people in better shape.

My prius would be worth twice what it cost new and I would have the roads to myself, every once in a while I would see another prius or a diesel Vw and we would wave and honk at each other and smile. We would occasionally see people out of gas on the side of the road and have smug looks on our faces as we passed the 10 mpg jacked up diesel pickups that serve as a compensation tool that drove around town constantly Blowing black smoke (raw diesel) out of the 8 inch chrome stacks causing my asthma to get the best of me. Now they cant afford fuel. I laugh.

Most people these days have Alcoholic Attitudes and only think about me me me. Well I have that attitude now. I hope gas hits 10 bucks a gallon, I can afford it and the higher cost of food, services and goods. If everything doubled I would be just fine and I could care less, I only care about myself and I would be fine and that’s all that matters.

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What I have observed is that when gas prices rise, the people driving the gas guzzling SUVs, etc., trade them in for fuel efficient cars so that they can drive just as fast. When gas prices stabilize, these people go back to the gas guzzlers.

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Higher gas prices are bad for everyone,When gas prices go up, everything goes up.

When farmers pay more for gas,to plant and harvest their crops,they pass that cost along to the wholesalers,the wholesaler passes it along to the retailer the retailer passes it along to the you the consumer,the consumer has nobody to pass it along to so they have to eat the increased cost of food.

everything that is transported by truck goes up in price to offset the increased price of fuel to transport and deliver those items to the stores.Even things that have no direct connection to petroleum or petroleum byproducts will go up in price because of the increased cost of manufacturing and transporting those items.

$10 a gallon gas would cause havoc on the economy,rapidly increasing inflation and an economic depression would be the result of $10 a gallon gas.
America is a big country and people who live in rural areas have to drive a long way to get to the nearest town,$10 a gallon for gas would bankrupt them.

The nearest town to me is 25 miles,and thats just a small town,not much there.The nearest "real" town, with a movie theater and a Wal-Mart etc is 50 miles,thats a 100 mile round trip.Not many people would be able to afford to pay $50 in gas to go to the grocery store or the Wal-Mart.Even if they did manage to afford to get to the store they probably couldn`t afford to buy anything because the price of everything has increased due to manufacturing and transportation costs.
Maybe the government could raise the minimum wage to $30 an hour so we could afford to pay for that $10 a gallon gas?

People who like to drive fast will always find a way to drive fast no matter how much gas costs.

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I guess I disagree with most of what you said. Adding $5 a gallon tax is what Europe does to pay for their social programs. I’m not sure its been a great success story. The question though, Sir, is why its so important to impose your values on someone else? You are free to drive 45 or 55, drive a small car, walk, bike, whatever you want to do. You are free to grow your own corn, chickens, heat with wood, or live in the woods if that is what you want to do. But why do you think thats the way everyone else should also live? If they wanted to, they already would live like that wouldn’t they?

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The nearest town to me is 25 miles,and that`s just a small town,not much there.The nearest "real" town, with a movie theater and a Wal-Mart etc is 50 miles,that`s a 100 mile round trip.Not many people would be able to afford to pay $50 in gas to go to the grocery store or the Wal-Mart.Even if they did manage to afford to get to the store they probably couldn`t afford to buy anything because the price of everything has increased due to manufacturing and transportation costs.

They could not afford to drive a gas guzzler, but if they got a car that got 45 mpg, and came from a 17mpg pickup, and gas doubled, they would actually spend less on gas at 8 dollars a gallon at 45mpg than 4 dollars a gallon at 17 mpg.

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lol, you d probably lose your job because you company would fold and turn to booze and die a slow painful death, crying me me me…

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The question though, Sir, is why its so important to impose your values on someone else? You are free to drive 45 or 55, drive a small car, walk, bike, whatever you want to do. You are free to grow your own corn, chickens, heat with wood, or live in the woods if that is what you want to do. But why do you think thats the way everyone else should also live? If they wanted to, they already would live like that wouldn't they?

Because I am living my life within the boundaries of the law. If you speed or drive drunk or have a machine gun you are breaking the law. I drive the speed limit, I am not breaking the law.

Key difference.

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America has cheap food, we waste it and eat too much of it.

America has cheap electricity, we waste it and do not conserve.

America has cheap fuel, we waste it and drive inefficient vehicles.

Let all 3 of those things go up and maybe people will start acting like they have sense.

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I hope Gasoline goes up! Let it hit 6-10 bucks a gallon!

… WHAT YOU SAY???

I say you’re tilting at windmills again, WR. If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were trolling to make such a statement at a car forum…but I know your posting style and I’m certain you’re being genuine, if a bit idealistic.

The market equilibrium is nowhere near $6-10/gallon, so you’d need taxes to raise it to that level. Energy taxes are notoriously regressive (hit the poor hardest), and fuel taxes hit hardest on the poor that commute to work, or use their vehicles for work; basically, energy taxes are just another way of saying, “I hate the poor!”

…and high fuel prices both give and take away from safety. For every speed demon you temper, you spawn a yahoo bump-drafting semis for aerodynamic gain.

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the guy with the truck on the side of the road would just shoot you and take your prius

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Because I am living my life within the boundaries of the law. If you speed or drive drunk or have a machine gun you are breaking the law. I drive the speed limit, I am not breaking the law.

You also live in a fantasy world.

I speed - because if I’m NOT keeping up with traffic then I DRASTICALLY INCREASE MY CHANCES OF GETTING IN AN ACCIDENT…PERIOD. Maybe where you live in rural Ind…you can drive the speed limit without any consequences.

I DON’T drive drunk. There are different levels of breaking the law. Traffic offense is just that an offense. Not even a misdemeanor. DUI is a felony in most states. There isn’t a person alive who hasn’t broken the law at some point…maybe you’re the first.

Owning a machine gun - Depends on the state. Here in NH you can own a machine gun.

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It was nice spending 3 weeks in France and not see a single pickup truck other than those with compoany names on them. Most cars are sensible size; ours was a large roomy Peugeot 5 (about the size of a Ford Fusion) simce it needed to hold luggage for 4. The diesel engine was very smooth and we got aound 40+ mpg or less than 2 tanks full driving all over.

France has a gas guzzler and horsepower tax; My old V8 Chevy Caprice would incur an ANNUAL road tax of about $1500, whereas a 4 cylinder subcompact would cost about $70 per year to keep the plates on. A large pickup truck for personal use in unaffordable there.

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It was nice spending 3 weeks in France and not see a single pickup truck other than those with compoany names on them. Most cars are sensible size; ours was a large roomy Peugeot 5 (about the size of a Ford Fusion) simce it needed to hold luggage for 4. The diesel engine was very smooth and we got aound 40+ mpg or less than 2 tanks full driving all over.

Watch out Doc… Your going to hit some nerves here…

How are people in France compared to the US? Are they always in a hurry and angry? I think when people drive pickups and suvs that don’t need to it makes them angry even if they don’t know it… When I drive my prius or caprice it relaxes me, when I drive my silverado it makes me angry and I tend to drive faster because I want to get home as soon as possible because I hate it.

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live free or die. long live new hampshire

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I say you're tilting at windmills again, WR. If I didn't know you better, I'd think you were trolling to make such a statement at a car forum...but I know your posting style and I'm certain you're being genuine, if a bit idealistic.

Thanks!! My main thing is to throw ideas out that are out of the norm and make people think.

If I went from my prius to my co workers 15mpg f 150, it would be like gas prices tripling for me, so if gas prices tripled and people went from f 150s to prius like cars, in effect they would be spending the same on gas. Now I know there are other prices that would go up, and some people genuinely need Big trucks, (though its probably less than 5% that currently drive them), but I am throwing ideas out there, albeit unpopular ideas.

This actually started at work today, I took a half day off and before I left people in the lunchroom were complaining about gas prices crying about them. The people who were crying were the ones who have the most useless gas guzzling vehicles out there, and I told them I hope gas hits 8 bucks a gallon, I will have the roads to myself… I laughed and left. It got me thinking, If gas hit 8 bucks a gallon I would be just fine, even if other prices doubled, It may even increase the quality of my life in some ways.

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if you got your wish the starving hordes may come knocking. then you ll wish you had that gun, because they will

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live free or die. long live new hampshire

Are you actually free? Do you own your vehicle or does it own you?

Wouldn’t we actually be much more free if we didn’t need middle eastern countries for fuel?

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we don t need them. we use them

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if you got your wish the starving hordes may come knocking. then you ll wish you had that gun, because they will

I am a huge gun supporter, in Indiana I cannot legally own a machine gun without very expensive licensing. I think you should be able to buy a machine gun if you want but since the law states otherwise I do not.

I take my prius to the firing range all the time, makes people angry for some reason… Maybe its because I don’t need a credit card to live my life, in part because I don’t spend all my money on fuel.

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@wheresrick.

We could have done without a car in France; the public transportation system is very good there. We got the car to get to some out of the way places. My brother lives in England and choses not to have a car; he rents one when he needs to go to remote areas.

Riding a French train is infinitely more relaxing than driving a “loaded” or luxo boat pickup in heavy traffic. As they say “Chaqun pour soi!”, to each his own.