Have You Noticed A Change In Behavior Due To Gas Prices?

This morning, I paid more than I ever have in my life for a gallon of gasoline:  $3.97.  It was a Chevron station.  8:27 AM eastern time.  It cost me $40 to fill up my Corolla.  Manual.  $40.  Luckily, my Corolla is very fuel efficient and I live relatively close to work, so I only have to fill up every few weeks.  Gas prices aren’t actually hurting me financially, but I still hate throwing money away and while I haven’t quite resorted to hypermiling (although I might if gas reaches $6 or so), I have made a few adjustments to my driving behavior.  For instance, I try to keep my RPM below 2500 and coast in neutral as much as possible.  If I see a light ahead, I’ll put it in neutral and try to time it so I still have a bit of forward momentum when it’s time to go.  I accelerate slowly enough to annoy the people behind me. 

Noticably Less Traffic

Atlanta, where I live, is notorious for its bad traffic and let me assure you, it is a well-deserved reputation.  On occassion, it has taken me over an hour and a half to drive 6 miles or less in the city.  And I wasn’t even on the busiest streets.  Lately, however, traffic has been noticably light.  My commute, never long to begin with,  has gotten even shorter.  I don’t think I’ve even hit a traffic jam in 2 or 3 months, which used to be a weekly occurance.  In short, there are simply fewer people on the road.  I don’t know if they’re carpooling, telecommuting, or what but thankfully, they aren’t in my way.  I LOVE $4 gas.

More People Taking Public Transit

While I don’t regularly ride Atlanta’s public transit system to work because it’s insanely illogical and useless (I have to change buses 3 times to get to work, even though it’s only a few miles and I live between 2 major population centers so it would make sense to have a direct line.), I do often ride it to sporting events, concerts, beer festivals (public transit is very useful for this), the airport, and other events.  Without a doubt, MARTA buses and trains are at least twice as crowded as I’ve ever seen them.  This is actually a pretty big deal in the south, where public transit is looked down upon as being for the poor.

Fewer SUVs On The Road

Again, this is a big deal in the south.  Rednecks LOVE their SUVs and pick-up trucks because it gives them a place to hang their gun rack and store cases of cheap American beer.  While the decrease in gas-guzzlers is still minor so far as I can see (I work in Buckhead where the money is, so most of my experience is in an environment where people can probably afford the additional cost), I have no doubt they will be disappearing in ever-increasing numbers as gas climbs higher.  Good riddance.  They cause most traffic accidents anyway since most SUV-driving soccer moms and Buckhead Barbie trophy wives can’t drive without a cell phone glued to their ear.

How have you modified your behavior in light of recent gas prices?  Have you noticed a significant shift of behavior in others?