WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Vermonters Keep Driving Despite High Pump Prices

Vermonters Keep Driving Despite High Pump Prices

Burlington, Vermont - March 5, 2008

Oil prices hit a record high on Wednesday, closing at $104 a barrel. That new record has renewed fears that gas will hit $4 a gallon in the near future. It also prompted President Bush to talk with OPEC.

As gas prices have continued to rise over the last several years the majority of Americans haven't changed they way they drive.

"I look at the sign every time I pull in, but it's not like I stop and go, 'Oh I'm not going do this,' I mean, you have to fill the car up so that's what I do," says Matt Borick, a South Burlington resident.

But Americans could soon be in for a new kind of sticker shock. Experts say gas prices will likely hit $4 a gallon by Memorial Day, around the same time summer travel increases.

"It's a huge concern because I like to take road trips, you know, I'm not like big into flying unless I really have to," says Burlington resident, Vanessa Harris.

As oil prices hit $104 a barrel on Wednesday, President Bush called on OPEC to increase oil production. Leaders of the oil cartel resisted the calls while at a meeting in Vienna. The leaders blame inflation and a weak U.S. dollar for rising prices rather than a shortage of fuel.

That means no help for drivers, who are paying an average of $3.21 per gallon in Vermont.

"I don't like the public transportation so much, I like the freedom of getting in my car and getting to drive somewhere and go places, so I'll pay, I'll pay the price, doesn't matter to me," says Tony Wyand of South Burlington.

Most drivers say they are starting to think more about how they'll budget for gas, but for now they'll keep on driving and filling up their tanks. Some of the drivers say if gas gets up to $7 or $8 a gallon then they will seriously cut back on driving. That's about how much drivers in Europe pay.

Bianca Slota - WCAX News