Drivers May Have to Shift Gears

Will the upheaval in the Middle East and the latest spurt in oil prices finally tip gas-price-wary motorists into making wholesale changes in their driving habits?

Many drivers already have made small gestures toward saving money, such as checking online message boards for cheap gasoline stations and pumping regular gasoline instead of premium. Now some are doing more out of fear that high gas prices are here to stay. Some analysts say uncertainty over prices is pushing drivers toward a new attitude.

Predicting turning points in human behavior is notoriously unreliable, and analysts said that any strong movement would dissipate if oil prices fall. Driving habits and interest in alternative-fuel vehicles have fluctuated with the cost of gasoline in recent decades. But signs of change, by some measures, are evident.

For the first five months this year, U.S. gasoline consumption fell 0.8 percent from the comparable period in 2005, according to the American Petroleum Institute. The decline followed years of increases of 1.5 to 2 percent.

Washington Post