Energy Politics

I wanted to add an addendum to yesterday’s post. It seems there’s more news concerning high fuel prices’ effects on driving.  A  study  by the University of Alabama and Harvard Medical School shows a decline in fatal traffic accidents of 2.3% was found for every 10% increase in gas prices.

Just for teenagers, a 10% increase in prices drops fatalities by 6%. Teens seem more likely to drive dangerously due to either inexperience or just raging hormones, which suddenly seems to dry up when driving is cutting into a larger portion of one’s budget.

The articles adds, “There is also clear evidence that Americans drive bigger cars when the price of gasoline is low, and smaller cars when the price goes up; a statistic that is not surprising at all considering the current brisk sales of hybrids and small, fuel-efficient cars.”

Which means that not only are people driving safer, they’re also driving safer vehicles. If you’re in a car, you’re much more likely to survive a collision if you crash into another car as opposed to being smashed by a monster-sized SUV.  With less people being able to afford vehicles that only get 10 mpg, we’ll see less fatalities even if the number of accidents remains consistent simply because the vehicles involved in collisions will be smaller and not able to create as much damage.

–Stephen Payne, Editor, Oil and Gas Investor This Week; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; spayne@hartenergy.com

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