Are you putting a little less gas in the tank because of the high prices at the pump? If so, you’re not alone, as a growing number of drivers are running out of gas on California roadways.
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"Sometimes I'll just put in half," Jessica, a Vallejo resident who drives an SUV, told KCBS Radio in an interview on Tuesday.
A gallon of regular gasoline cost an average of $5.84 in California on Tuesday, according to AAA, and $5.75 in Solano County. Jessica said she has paid as much as $120 to fill up in recent days.
"I have run out, and have to go back to get gas again." she recalled.
Jessica’s not alone, either. Just ask any tow truck driver.
"It at least doubled, if not tripled," Chris Soles, a rig driver for AAA, told KCBS Radio in an interview on Tuesday.
Soles said he used to average about five calls per week from stranded drivers asking for gas. Now, he averages about 20.
He said his first two calls of the day are always fuel calls.
"Nine times out of 10, they're just gonna say, 'Gas is too high.' So they'll risk it more often and try to make it to work one extra time," he added.
AAA spokesperson Aldo Vazquez told KCBS Radio that the agency fielded “about 950 more calls for fuel” this February compared to February 2021, with more people commuting to work following the widespread adoption of COVID-19 vaccines and gas prices spiking even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Running out of gas is expensive, and so is the cost of calling a tow truck without roadside assistance. It’s also tough on your car’s engine, and Vazquez said the risk of damage increases the closer your tank is to empty.
"Those fluids, those liquids are meant to kind of cool down your vehicle and keep it running," Vazquez said. "When they're not there, all it's going to be doing is heating that area up, and that's going to break down your vehicle."
It’s also a dangerous situation for the California Highway Patrol, too, as the agency is often called to help stranded drivers.
"I will always remember hugging a center-divide wall as I lay on top of it, thinking, 'Wow, I really wish you just would have put a gallon of gas in your car and made it off the freeway,' " Officer Andrew Barclay told KCBS Radio.
His message to penny-pinching drivers?
"Don't be the person that knows you can get 20 gallons after your car hits 'E,' right? Don't get to that point," he said. "It's good knowledge to have, but don't push it every single time."
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