As gas prices creeped ever higher Tuesday, plenty of drivers were willing to talk about it.
Most had only one thing to say, though.
“It’s too high,” said Sarah Mickle, who spent about $40 filling up her Toyota Tacoma at Race Trac on Lafayette Parkway.
She buys gas about twice a week and said the rise in prices hasn’t yet forced her to curtail her driving.
“I’d rather cut back on groceries, I can live with that,” she said. “If it gets to $4 a gallon, I’ll park it.”
The average price for a gallon of fuel was $3. 83 in Georgia on Tuesday, according to gasbuddy.com. The lowest price locally was $3.75 at the Race Trac, Pilot on Whitesville Road and the Marathon at Lafayette Parkway and Callaway Church Road. The highest price recorded was $3.89 at Citgo at 3400 West Point Road, Smith’s Corner Store on Bartley and Whitesville Roads and BP at 101 W. Lukken Industrial Drive.
Ed Johnson of Thomaston already had filled up his pontoon boat at home before heading to West Point Lake, but said the cost of gas for the boat – and the truck he drove to pull the boat – means he’s not fishing as much lately. How much gas the boat uses depends on how much trolling around he does, which makes knowing the hot spots on the lake even more valuable information.
“Honestly the truck is worse than the boat (as far as the price of filling up),” he said. “It makes 10 miles to the gallon.”
Randy Mickle, who is not related to Sarah Mickle, also was filling up his truck Tuesday afternoon. He only spent $20.
“I haven’t filled it up for a year or more,” he said.
The $20 bought about a quarter of a tank. To fill the truck, he’d have to spend upwards of $100.
Luckily, Randy Mickle said he doesn’t do much traveling. He only lives about five miles from where he works.
“When it gets like this I try and be on my motorcycle as much as possible,” he said.
The high cost of fuel is affecting how local stores get their deliveries. A spokeswoman for Publix said the chain of supermarkets has been battling the high gas prices for several years.
“We have programs in place for our distribution system,” said Brenda Reid.
To make trips more efficient, trucks who deliver to stores make pick ups from suppliers on the way back to the distribution center to cut down on a separate trip for a pick up.
“We only deliver full loads,” she said, which also helps with efficiency.
The chain of stores also has taken steps to make their trucks more fuel-efficient. Air pressure in the trucks adjusts automatically depending on conditions, which helps with fuel mileage.
The Publix distribution center is in Duluth.
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