Give up driving one day per week to help gas prices?

Question

Okay, I am SURE I will start a debate here BUT here it goes. I was thinking about ways we could save gas as a nation AND to help drive prices down too. I know that those strikes that we all try for one day (the email chains going around) never work. I think what could work would be that every person (or family) in the USA chooses one day per week that they do not drive anywhere. The best day of course would be during the work week where you could carpool with somebody else for one day. Everybody chooses there own day per week...and sticks to it. Of course you can change week to week...like one day you dont drive on Wednesdays and the next week you do not drive on Thursdays...and so on. Just as long as you do not drive anywhere (I mean leave your car parked) for ONE entire day per week.Those of you who just cannot do it during the work week can do it on the weekend. I think if everyone (or most people) did this in the USA (or even the world) it would HUGELY impact our gas economy.

Answer 1

People come up with all weird schemes here.  

BUT THIS ONE CAN WORK.

Why do I say that?  Because the basic premise is to conserve.

Good Luck...

UPDATE:  I don't believe the long term solution is to drill for more oil.  We have all these other concerns (like global warming) and we need to find ways to LOWER the use of gasoline, not just lower the price (which increase the use of gasoline).

In another words, we can move the price (using the theory of supply and demand) by lowering the demand OR increasing the supply.  But in this case we should ONLY lower the demand.

Answer 2

How about if we have  a new law- 4 day work week with WED off???  That way no one would take a 3 day weekend trip  OR just get people to use driving for necessities only....no going to the movies, trips etc

Answer 3

That's a great idea!!

I agree,  but??? how can government get involved and enforce and regulate it, to make sure everybody does it and not cheat?

I believe everybody should get a tracking microchip implanted into their forehead or right hand and corrugate the information with your car to see if you're driving it or not

Answer 4

I don't drive yet, so I can't talk with much experience, although, I like your idea. This may be hard for some people, though. For example, people may have to drive to work everyday. Instead, if it was far away, they could take a train. If someone lived nearby, that worked at the same place or the neighboring companys, they could car pool once a week, or even more than that! You are thinking though. Hopefully people don't get too mad at you! I think that that is really smart of you, though. Some weeks  I think not every one could do it (if they were on vacation, etc.), but that probably would positively effect the gas economy in some way! Over all, nice idea. Now you just have to find someway to spread it to the world! Hope you can! I'll help.

Answer 5

The beauty of this country to me is that I can choose to pay for what I want.  Diamonds are WAAAY over priced but if I want to show off how much I care about my wife I can buy her one!   Or if I so choose, (which I don't) I can express myself and how cool I am by spending lots of money on gas and drive a huge SUV or truck.  Or maybe I want to by food from an exclusive restaurant or something.  Its free enterprise, its good!  There are lots of ways that I personally save money, for example I bought a nice little fuel saving car, but then again, I drive past the local hospital where I quit working because I had a horrible manager and travel 50 miles to another hospital where I love my job.  

        Our Gov.  (in WA)  wanted to regulate how far people drive to work!   That is blatant communism!  It's the equivalent of co-op farms in China.  If I want to spend $10 a day on gas to work in a place where I like the management.  I should be able to choose to do that.  

       As far as getting gas prices to drop, maybe eliminating OPEC's monopoly by drilling for our own oil would work?   Its just like McDonalds and their coffee scheme to undermine the star bucks monopoly, they don't have to sell ALL the coffee, just enough to keep star bucks honest.  The net effect will be to reduce the overall cost of coffee to the consumer.   But trying to get people to not drink coffee one day a week would cause nationally riots, (esp. if it was a Monday), Its the same with gas.  I think its against the basic principles that make this particular economic system such a blessing to be a part of to try and regulate consumer activity. COST will regulate it just fine.  It would be great to try and tax the really rich people for their oil consumption, but in reality they are the ones who (in general) are selling stuff to the rest of us, and as always the costs get passed along down the line!

Me personally?  I am experimenting in my garage with hydrogen fuel and hybrid technology, but this has actually already been done, and there are lots of very successful alternative fuel sources, its just not advantageous to the market (overall) right now for water to become the main source of fuel… Think about what that would do to our economy if it was unveiled overnight!  If every gas station’s only business was its water faucet, now THAT would damage to economy much more than us paying $4 a gallon for gas! My motiation is purely mercinary, I just want to rig up my OWN car and save some money.  The rest of the world will just have to catch up when it will make someone some money, that’s really the only way alternative fuel (green or otherwise) will catch on.

Answer 6

Greatest Idea !

I have been saying countries need to go back to closing everything down on sundays I mean every thing ! it would bring familys back together and save tons of fule and electricity ! in this 24-7 world its gotton out of controll i live in a major city and a convience store was robbed at 4 am the other night if it would have been closed it would not have been robbed Haji should take a night off !

Answer 7

The reason gas prices won't go down for a while is because the eco people let us drill for oil in forgein places and china is already drilling in cuba! But yea that would help but still we need to drill for more oil!

Answer 8

Might work....

But personally, I'd wonder just how many other people were making the sacrifice like I was.  It would be pointless unless everybody, or nearly everybody, participated.

Answer 9

Most likely the way this would work in America is that I would only drive 6 days a week but would drive more on those days to run all the trips to stores, work, etc.  Thus the same amount of gas would be used and the price would stay the same.

Better gas mileage is the real solution to the problem, cars that use half the gas would make a difference.

Answer 10

How many people do you think will agree?There are millions of people in the United States and how many of those do you think will agree? Not a lot.And plus,it will run out eventually.We should either stock up on horses or bikes!

Answer 11

I think that people are naturally finding ways to drive less anyway. I have a friend who has decided to either take the bus or carpool to work because she can't afford to drive in, and I know somebody else who's coordinating shopping trips with her sister to save on gas.