Running On Empty: Gas Prices Linked to Spike in Stranded Drivers

Gas prices have been rising by about a penny a day over the past week, which may explain why more people are running out of gas, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.

So far this year, the Auto Club has seen a near 13 percent increase over last year in service calls by drivers stranded with empty tanks. Currently, the Auto Club delivers gas to about 15,600 people a month.

“Higher gas prices may be contributing to more people running out of gas because they are trying to stretch each tank further than normal,” said Steve Mazor, manager of the Auto Club’s Automotive Research Center.  “However, as painful as trips to the gas station may be getting, letting your car regularly run on an almost-empty tank can cause even more wallet damage with expensive repairs.” 

 According to the Auto Club, routinely running on empty can cause sediment in the bottom of the tank to clog the fuel pump pickup, the fuel filter or the fuel injectors.

 “Secondly, letting the vehicle’s level of fuel run down to empty may cause the electric fuel pump inside the tank to overheat,” said Mazor.  “The cost to replace this one component alone can be $500 or more in parts and labor.”

However, the spiking gas prices are making it tempting to try and stretch  a gallon of gas. This week, the average price of self-serve regular is $4.182 per gallon in Orange County. In the Los Alamitos-Seal Beach area, the cheapest to be found is about a fifteen cents more than a week ago.

The survey by the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Weekend Gas Watch puts the average price for Orange County at 6.8 cents more than last week, about 23 cents higher than last month, and about $1.10 higher than last year. That's about the same as in San Diego, where it's $4.184. In the Inland Empire it's cheaper still -- if cheaper is the right word -- at $4.169. The Central Coast average is $4.224.

“At this time of year in 2008, Southern California gas prices were also going up by a penny a day – but on April 14, 2008, the average Los Angeles-Long Beach price was $3.77,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “Prices in 2008 spiked to all-time records in late June, but in most other years since 2000, Southern California gas prices have peaked sometime in May.” 

According to MapQuest, the lowest price for gas in the U.S. is $3.28, in Wickliffe, Ky., and the highest is here in California—$5.04 in the desert town of Shoshone, near the Nevada border.

The stations currently selling the cheapest gas in the Los Alamitos-Seal Beach area are listed below. Local prices are according to GasBuddy.com and reflect prices reported within the last 24 hours.

76 at 13980 Seal Beach Boulevard & Westminster Boulevard

• Regular—$4.23
• Premium—$4.47

Mobil at 3971 Cerritos Avenue & Bloomfield Street

• Regular—$4.19
• Premium—$4.43

Shell at 10961 Los Alamitos Boulevard and Katella Avenue

• Regular—$4.19
• Premium—$4.39