Who agrees that there are many positives to having high gas prices?

Question

Americans are ranting and b-tching but there are a lot of advantages to these high gas prices:

1. Less traffic on the road, as Americans cut back on non-essential travel. This also means less pollution.

2. Some people are driving a lot slower to conserve gas. There are still a lot of people who speed up to get to a red light 100 feet ahead, but at least some people are easing off the gas pedal.

3. Traffic-related deaths and auto accidents have fallen dramatically, for those first two reasons given. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080722/ap_on_re_us/gas_declining_deaths

4. It'll force Americans to get off their lazy butts and walk or use public transportation. It'll also force them to carpool more.

Considering how recklessly many Americans drive, I'm not so sure I want to see gas prices come down. When I consider how fast people some people are driving even with these high gas prices, I'm not sure I want to see gas go back to $1.46 a gallon like it was 7 years ago.

Answer 1

Some of us can't walk or use public transportation because we have 2 kids one of which who weighs 20lbs and can't walk and his grandmother and great grandmother live 20 miles away and I have a lung condition that means I shouldn't even be lifting 20lbs.

Gas is too d**n expensive and anyone who disagrees has too much money. My mom is paying for my gas while I'm in college but I'm still trying to get better gas mileage than the EPA says my car will get. If you want to know a secret slowing down doesn't get the best gas mileage. 55mph is the average most efficient speed from what I've heard and I spent 30 minutes or so doing 55 yesterday and got way better gas mileage than going 20-30 in stop and go traffic.

Answer 2

True, but like many responders have said, you're forgetting about the ripple effect of all this. The price of consumer goods is driven up due to increased costs of shipping. Although who knows, as another responder said maybe this will soon lead to a comprehensive and functional form of public transportation like they have in Europe.

So, it affects the entire economy in general.

Answer 3

It may be counter-intuitive, but I agree with you. When people feel the impact of wasteful driving, I hope they will start looking for better alternatives such as telecommuting and carpooling. Better yet, it may trigger the start of a truly functional public transportation system similar to the trains/ metro system in Europe.

I'll be the first to admit that it's hard to change ingrained habits, but change for the better should always be welcome.

Answer 4

The 4 positives to gas being up do not match the negatives. Everything else has gone up as a result, the economy is in a recession and only getting worse, the dollar is weaker, and it will only continue as long as gas stays as high as it is.

Answer 5

I agree and also make us think twice of what we are doing.Who knows ma bey people will be inspiring to try use hydro cars, air-car, and also a hybrid.

Answer 6

Sorry but I think they need to go down still. Do you really expect someone to walk 20 miles to work if it's that far away? And what if there is a freaking hurricane? Noone will be able to evacuate. I think there are more negatives than positives if the gas were to stay high.

Answer 7

I totally agree.  It's unfortunate that the costs spread so heavily through the rest of the economy and drive up prices on so many things, but other economic factors are also causing that, so you can't lay it all at the cost of fuel.

People are driving slower, carpooling, taking the bus instead of the plane, etc.  Even planting gardens!  How could this be a bad thing?

Answer 8

I AGREE COMPLETELY!!!

i had this argument with my gf, nora.  She disagrees, but thanks bc now i can really argue the point.

Answer 9

annnd to hpefully cause people to be wiser and not depend apon oil. america needs to be put into rehab for being so addicted to oil.

Answer 10

While some or all of these statements may be true, the fact of the matter is that high gas prices are putting a severe strain on many families.  They affect everything from groceries, to air travel to the tourism industry (know anybody who work in this?  ask them how well they're doing.)  So I think the bad far outweighs the good.

I know some people hate cars and think everybody should ride bikes everywhere, but it's just not feasible for most people in our society the way it's structured.  Ever try to carry home groceries for a family of five on a bus?  Carpool to your children's sporting events with a bicycle?  I have a cleaning business and must carry my own supplies, I would use a horse and buggy if it were legal, and even now some of my jobs are so far away that I am just breaking even with the travel expense.

So I don't entirely agree.

Answer 11

You have a point, but the prices still stink!   Some ppl live very far from their jobs, and still have to drive to work, ppl still have to pick up their kids from school, they still have to travel to see loved ones, etc... no matter what, there's going to be cars on the road...a decrease in the gas prices would def not hurt!

Answer 12

Good luck getting Americans on board with that one, Mr. Gore.

Answer 13

Melissa has it. We barely made it paycheck to paycheck before. Yes, we do walk a lot more places than before but the heat now makes us crankier. I see more motorcycles on the road and MORE traffic accidents because of it. Please, let the gas prices continue to go down.

Answer 14

WOW lets look at all the positives

1. You see people riding bikes instead of cars

2. You cant travel anymore because it takes 100$ to go from my house to my driveway!

3. Buissnesses are suffereing because they have to sell their company cars because they cant afford the gas.

4. Due to this EVERYTHING is now more expensive including bread and milk!

Other than that I would say my life is pretty darn dandy!

Answer 15

You are right about less drivers but it is driving the price of every thing way up.. It is also hurting small business because people are cutting back to pay for necessities. Our whole economy is taking a hit. When you start a family and try to support them you will see the other side of it. plus how do you get to work when there is no public transportation and you live 30 miles away? As far as being addicted to oil, what modern country isn't. This term is way over used and really makes no sense.

Answer 16

are u kidding me the accidents haven't dropped i heard ten of  them in one week on the news and less pollution my but there are a lot of other things that are polluting the earth and what's the point of carpooling when its basically one person doing all the driving and did you even consider the people who it takes an hour or two hours to get where they need to go it would take them triple or quadrupole the time to get two there destination yeah sure if its a short distance I would understand walking and the more people that use public transportation the more pollution and the more money in taxes we have to pay just so the government can buy more buses and other public transportation which means more pollution and since were talking about pollution why don't we switch to cleaner energy sources like wind mills and build more dams and the government is the only people really benefiting from higher gas prices its just more money in there pockets and with these high gas prices the gas companies are gauging to make even more cash.

Answer 17

yes there are positives like they can make better schools, and buildings and what you said yeah where i live there was like 7 accidants in a day, now maybe like 1 or 2

Answer 18

i agree with you.

Answer 19

being lazy it's the american way, ya don't like it live somewhere else i love my country, go america

Answer 20

I agree with a lot of your points, but that easy for me to say, I can afford the gas and take care of my family,some Americans were living from pay check to pay check before the gas prices went up, I hate to see it hurt those families that are trying so hard to make it....

Answer 21

I agree, there are many positives to high gas prices. And if you are smart, high gas prices don't need to put a dent in your own budget.

I have a friend who told me he is hoping gas goes up to $10/gallon for many of the same reasons you mention. He showed me this "free gas calculator (http://www.drivefreeforlife.com/free-gas... No you, don't really get gas for free, but it teaches you how you can offset the rising cost of gas.

You can see the same concept at work right now in the airline industry. Most airlines are losing money right now because of the higher cost of fuel. The notable exception is Southwest Airlines, which invested in oil a year ago, locking in a price of about $50/barrel (the market is over $130/barrel).