BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — If you've filled up your gas tank in the last week, you may have noticed prices just keep going up.
"They jumped up 4 to 5 percent just last week," Elizabeth Carey with AAA said, "then when the Colonial Pipeline shut down because of the cyber attack, we saw it jump a few more cents so we're up 7 cents nationally in the last week."
The longer the pipeline is down, the more the prices will increase. In a typical year, if that happened, the prices would find their way back down.
"Prices usually peak around memorial day then taper off," Carey said. "There is another way to get the gas to gas stations, trucks. There's already been a shortage of truck drivers and that has impacted prices."
That truck driver shortage, noticed by Stevens Truck School. They say truck companies are in desperate need to fill seats. The federal government recently announced drivers will be allowed to stay behind the wheel for extended hours to get fuel to the Northeast.
"You may lose more drivers because of that just because more stress more demand on the body," Andrew Streit with Stevens Driving School, said.
Stevens Driving School requires 30 hours of driving to get the proper certification to become a truck driver. According to Indeed.com, truck drivers in the US make an average of $65,000 per year. Streit says that, after completing the course, a job is almost immediate.
"As people are coming out of our program people are looking for them to drive the tractor trailers," Streit said, "They're in desperate need... there's absolutely a need for these drivers right now."
For more information on Stevens Truck school and for information on classes, click the link here or call (716)674-2340.
Find gas saving tips from AAA below:
· Plan ahead to accomplish multiple errands in one trip, and whenever possible avoid high-traffic times of day.
· If you own more than one car, use the most fuel-efficient model that meets the needs of any given journey.
· Remove unnecessary and bulky items from your car. Minimize your use of roof racks and remove special carriers when not in use. It takes more fuel to accelerate a heavier car, and the reduction in fuel economy is greater for small cars than for larger models.
· Minimize your use of air conditioning. Even at highway speeds, open windows have less effect on fuel economy than the engine power required to operate the air conditioning compressor.
· In hot weather, park in the shade or use a windshield sunscreen to lessen heat buildup inside the car. This reduces the need for air conditioning (and thus fuel) to cool down the car.
