Cruising for a bruising

All of us need to change our driving habits — or face up to the likelihood that we’re cruising for a bruising energy crisis like we’ve never seen before.

Two recent studies indicate that U.S. drivers are making few, if any, adjustments to their fuel consumption, despite higher gas prices and five years of warnings that our reliance on foreign oil poses a serious threat to national security.

Americans reacted more quickly to rising energy costs in the 1970s than they did to more recent increases in prices, according to research by the University of California at Davis.

Researchers focused on two periods of rising prices — 1975 to 1980 and 2001 to 2006. According to the study, the U.S. demand for gasoline dropped in a range between 2.1 percent and 3.4 percent for every 10 percent increase in prices during the late 1970s. But, when prices rose by the same percentage during the past five years, the demand dropped in a range between 0.34 percent and 0.77 percent.

Herald-Tribune (Florida)