One Good Thing About The High Price of Gas

July 13, 2008

High gasoline prices could lead to fewer auto deaths on the road. A new study by professors at Harvard Medical School and the University of Alabama-Birmingham found that decreased driving due to higher prices may reduce auto deaths by a third.

The study found that for every 10 percent increase in gas prices, there is a 2.3 percent decline in auto deaths. The report found the effects may be especially dramatic among teenage drivers, who are more price-sensitive than adults. Researchers predicted a drop of about 1,000 deaths per month nationwide as a result of the current high prices.