An exclusive Action News poll conducted by SurveyUSA showed high prices caused 84-percent of valley residents to cut down on the amount they drive.
People may have cut back on their driving but they rely on their cars so they keep gassing up. They also watch their fuel total go to where it's never gone before.
At Fresno State, John Gonzales spends as much of his time riding his longboard skateboard instead of driving his car. High gas prices also forced him to change his spring break plans. Gonzales said, "Well yeah. We were supposed to go out and do a lot of road trips but because of the rising prices it's kind of hard. We're limited in what we can do now. We're all tight on money with tuition going up and gas prices."
The effect will be felt beyond spring break.
An exclusive Action News poll conducted by SurveyUSA showed 64-percent of valley residents say the high price of gas caused them to cancel or change their summer vacation plans.
Fresno State Business Professor Bill Rice said many families can no longer plan too far ahead. Rice explained, "People are pushing the time frame of making decisions farther down. Instead of saying okay in July we're going to do this, wow, these prices are increasing. Maybe we need not the make that decision now. Let's wait until the first of June."
The problem is the uncertainty over how high fuel prices could get. Rice worries what will happen if the prices don't flatten out this summer. "Oh five dollars a gallon is going to be sticker shock beyond belief. If it hits five dollars a gallon I believe the impact on our society will be profound."
