Latest / In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson / Gasoline Prices - TPR's In Focus - March 10, 2026

Transcript

Gasoline Prices - TPR's In Focus - March 10, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

• 0:00
  Support comes from the Janice Hawkins Cultural Arts Park
• 0:03
  on the main campus of Troy University,
• 0:06
  featuring the International Arts Center,
• 0:09
  the Fred Nall Hollis Museum, and the Hua Bao Zhu Gallery.
• 0:14
  More information at troy.edu slash arts park.
• 0:19
  ♪
• 0:21
  From Troy Public Radio, this is the Exchange from InFocus,
• 0:25
  and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson.
• 0:28
  With gasoline prices continuing to escalate,
• 0:31
  Clay Ingram, Public Relations Manager with AAA Alabama,
• 0:35
  shares tips on how to cope.
• 0:38
  ♪
• 0:43
  Clay Ingram, welcome back to Troy Public Radio
• 0:46
  for the Exchange.
• 0:48
  Thank you. Appreciate you having me.
• 0:50
  Clay, every driver is wondering what's ahead
• 0:54
  with gasoline prices in light of the war in the Middle East.
• 0:58
  What can you tell us?
• 1:00
  Well, the news is not good so far.
• 1:03
  You know, any time we have a situation like this come up,
• 1:05
  it's going to affect our gas prices,
• 1:08
  and in an upward trend, not a downward trend, unfortunately.
• 1:11
  So we've seen our gas prices jump up,
• 1:14
  and that's a little bit of a knee-jerk reaction,
• 1:17
  in my opinion.
• 1:18
  Crude oil prices certainly started climbing
• 1:20
  when all this started,
• 1:22
  but it takes two or three weeks for crude oil to make its way
• 1:25
  from, you know, being purchased out of the Middle East
• 1:28
  or anywhere else, for that matter,
• 1:30
  and make its way on a cargo ship to the refinery,
• 1:33
  go through the refining process, go through the pipeline,
• 1:36
  get to the wholesaler,
• 1:38
  and then get delivered to the retailer,
• 1:40
  and then find its way into our gas tanks.
• 1:42
  So, you know, having an immediate jump in price
• 1:46
  on gasoline that's already been purchased
• 1:48
  and is already in the ground in tanks
• 1:51
  at the various gas stations around the state
• 1:54
  is a little bit of a knee-jerk reaction,
• 1:56
  and I think a lot of these retailers are pricing their gas
• 2:00
  based on what they think their next shipment
• 2:02
  might cost them next week, maybe,
• 2:06
  but that kind of behavior is frowned upon
• 2:08
  for the retailers to start bumping their prices up
• 2:11
  immediately when, you know,
• 2:13
  the gas in their tanks has already been paid for, so.
• 2:16
  But at the same time, they're free to price their gas
• 2:19
  whatever they want to price it,
• 2:20
  and there are no laws in Alabama restricting that.
• 2:24
  You know, you hear people talk about price gouging,
• 2:27
  but that only comes into play
• 2:29
  when there is a declared state of emergency in Alabama,
• 2:33
  and, of course, we likely won't see that
• 2:35
  during this situation.
• 2:37
  Clay, when you consider our part of the country,
• 2:40
  Alabama, Georgia, Florida,
• 2:42
  how does this usually compare price-wise
• 2:45
  with other parts of the United States?
• 2:48
  Well, the southeastern United States is,
• 2:51
  typically, we have better gas prices
• 2:53
  than other parts of the country
• 2:56
  because of our proximity to the Gulf Coast refineries
• 2:59
  and the Colonial Pipeline.
• 3:01
  Transportation costs are less.
• 3:04
  The cost of living, generally, is a little less as well,
• 3:06
  so we're fortunate here in the southeast,
• 3:09
  especially in Alabama,
• 3:10
  because Alabama has one of the,
• 3:12
  they're one of the five states
• 3:14
  with the lowest gas prices in the country
• 3:16
  almost all the time.
• 3:18
  Georgia and Florida are a little bit higher,
• 3:19
  but still better than most other parts of the country,
• 3:22
  so we're fortunate in that respect.
• 3:25
  You know how many commuters we have.
• 3:28
  Among our three stations, we have commuters every day,
• 3:32
  and some of them are commuting long distances.
• 3:35
  What is your advice for them?
• 3:38
  The best thing that we can do in the coming weeks
• 3:41
  is two things.
• 3:43
  Number one, just buy as little gas as possible.
• 3:46
  If you can work from home for a few days
• 3:48
  or a week or two or three,
• 3:50
  take advantage of that and do that.
• 3:52
  Buy as little gas as you can possibly buy
• 3:55
  in the coming weeks.
• 3:57
  Then number two, we need to price shop
• 4:00
  every single time we buy gas.
• 4:03
  Don't just pull into your favorite station
• 4:05
  because it's your favorite station
• 4:07
  because they sell the kind of Ices that you like
• 4:10
  or that's close to your house or something like that.
• 4:14
  Pay attention to what the prices are
• 4:16
  at all the stations that you see
• 4:18
  during your normal day-to-day travel routine,
• 4:21
  and make a conscious effort
• 4:23
  to buy the cheapest price gas you can find
• 4:25
  because you'd be silly to pay
• 4:27
  an extra 30 plus cents a gallon when you don't need to,
• 4:31
  and you don't want to reward these stations
• 4:33
  that are trying to take advantage of us
• 4:35
  by bumping their prices up a little early in this situation.
• 4:39
  So buy the cheapest price gas you can find,
• 4:42
  and that not only saves you money today
• 4:44
  and next week, but it rewards those stations
• 4:47
  that are trying to help us out.
• 4:48
  And as far as your vehicle goes,
• 4:51
  what about tire inflation?
• 4:53
  Does that actually make a difference
• 4:55
  in the mileage you get?
• 4:57
  You know, it does.
• 4:58
  Much more than people realize, to be honest.
• 5:01
  The rule of thumb on that is that
• 5:04
  you lose 2% of your fuel efficiency
• 5:07
  for every pound of pressure a tire is underinflated.
• 5:10
  So if you've got between your four tires,
• 5:13
  if you're underinflated by 10 pounds of pressure,
• 5:16
  you know, that's 20% of your fuel efficiency
• 5:18
  that you're losing there.
• 5:20
  And plus it wears your tires out faster,
• 5:22
  and it makes you more prone to have a flat or a blowout.
• 5:26
  So it really pays to keep those tires properly inflated.
• 5:30
  Are there any other tips that AAA can give your listeners
• 5:34
  as far as maximizing what they get from their vehicle
• 5:39
  when we're under stress with these gasoline prices?
• 5:43
  Yes, yes.
• 5:44
  There are a lot of different things,
• 5:45
  and most of us have heard those
• 5:47
  at one time or another over the years, but they do work.
• 5:50
  And if you incorporate several of them,
• 5:52
  then they really sort of add up
• 5:54
  and make a noticeable difference.
• 5:56
  Tire pressure being one of those,
• 5:58
  lightening the load in your vehicles is another.
• 6:00
  Don't haul around a bunch of excess weight
• 6:02
  if you don't have to.
• 6:04
  That hurts your gas mileage as well.
• 6:06
  But probably the number one best way to save gas
• 6:12
  is to be a more conservative driver.
• 6:15
  The aggressive driving that we see out there
• 6:18
  all the time, every day, with the quick starts
• 6:22
  and the hard stops and the speeding
• 6:24
  and the weaving in and out of traffic,
• 6:26
  that uses much more gas than people realize.
• 6:30
  And the studies have shown that if you go
• 6:32
  from being a very aggressive driver
• 6:35
  to being a very conservative driver,
• 6:37
  you can save as much as 33% of your fuel costs
• 6:41
  from week to week and month to month.
• 6:43
  Obviously, that's a very extreme example,
• 6:46
  and most of us won't fit into that extreme example,
• 6:49
  but most of us fit somewhere in the middle.
• 6:51
  So it seems like you could at least save 20%
• 6:54
  of your fuel efficiency, your gas mileage, fuel expense,
• 6:58
  by being a much more conservative driver.
• 7:01
  Just slow down, kind of sit back, go with the flow,
• 7:04
  and just take it easy.
• 7:06
  And you'll not only save money on gas,
• 7:08
  but you'll take the stress out of your trip
• 7:11
  and you'll be a safer driver as well.
• 7:13
  From what you know about the different grades of gasoline,
• 7:16
  does that really matter?
• 7:18
  Yes, that does make a difference.
• 7:20
  And most vehicles nowadays are designed to run
• 7:23
  on a certain grade of fuel.
• 7:25
  Most run on just regular unleaded.
• 7:29
  Some of the more higher end vehicles
• 7:31
  tend to run on the premium fuel.
• 7:34
  You need to find out for sure exactly which grade of fuel
• 7:38
  your vehicle is designed to use.
• 7:41
  And don't use anything but that,
• 7:42
  because if you're using a different octane
• 7:45
  than what your vehicle's designed for,
• 7:47
  your engine's gonna have to work harder
• 7:49
  and your gas mileage is gonna suffer.
• 7:52
  So it's important that you understand your vehicle
• 7:54
  and which grade of fuel you need to buy,
• 7:57
  and make sure you buy that and only that
• 7:59
  to maximize your fuel efficiency.
• 8:01
  And does it really matter about these tune-ups,
• 8:04
  getting those on time?
• 8:06
  Yes, it does.
• 8:07
  A lot of people sort of raise their eyebrows at that,
• 8:10
  but keeping your vehicle properly maintained
• 8:14
  with routine maintenance, getting tune-ups,
• 8:16
  getting your oil changed,
• 8:17
  getting your tires rotated and balanced,
• 8:19
  and making sure the tire pressure is correct in those tires,
• 8:22
  all those things do add up and make a difference.
• 8:25
  And not only will it improve your gas mileage,
• 8:28
  but it makes your vehicle last a lot longer
• 8:30
  and perform better as well.
• 8:32
  So it really is important that you keep an eye
• 8:35
  on that kind of thing.
• 8:36
  So Clay, finally, are there any tips that work for you
• 8:40
  that you can share with your listeners?
• 8:42
  Yeah, I'm one of those people, I hate to admit it,
• 8:44
  that I feel like I'm the only one out there
• 8:46
  that knows how to drive.
• 8:47
  And my wife fussing at me about that,
• 8:51
  I've been working on that to try
• 8:53
  to be a more conservative driver
• 8:55
  and kind of slow down and relax
• 8:57
  and be a more courteous driver,
• 9:00
  a more conservative driver and a safer driver as well.
• 9:04
  It sounds like you're practicing what you preach.
• 9:08
  I'm trying hard.
• 9:09
  Clay, I want to thank you for your time today.
• 9:12
  And I see that we're on a continuum with the question
• 9:15
  about where these gasoline prices are going.
• 9:18
  But thank you for educating your listeners
• 9:20
  on how to get more out of it.
• 9:23
  You're certainly welcome.
• 9:24
  And hopefully this situation will get resolved sooner
• 9:27
  rather than later, and that'll help our gas prices too.
• 9:31
  Joining us for the exchange was Clay Ingram
• 9:35
  with AAA Alabama, sharing his recommendations
• 9:38
  on how to cope with rising gasoline prices.
• 9:42
  Thanks for joining us today for In Focus,
• 9:45
  which is a podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
• 9:49
  I'm Carolyn Hutcheson,
• 9:50
  and this is listener-supported Troy Public Radio.