Poll: More cite hardship from gas prices

Of those who said the higher costs would seriously hurt them, two-thirds said they compare prices before refilling their tanks — a practice about evenly shared among genders, races and income levels.

Seventy percent overall said they have tamped down their home heating or air conditioning, a slight increase from last May.

“We used to keep it lower in summer,” Pamela Diaz, 48, a homemaker in Plant City, Fla., said of her thermostat. “But everything is just so much. And it’s hot here in Florida.”

Large numbers of people were still taking other steps to save money due to energy price increases, yet fewer said so than a year ago. Those reducing their driving went from 66 percent last year to 62 percent now, including large proportions of women and older people.

Those changing vacation plans dropped from 49 percent in 2006 to 42 percent this year, while the number paring other expenses fell from 66 percent last year to 60 percent now.

Robert Gilliam, 40, an insurance claims adjuster from Clarksboro, N.J., said he now uses a sedan instead of a sport utility vehicle to save money for the 2,500 miles a month he drives for work. He said he is not cutting back on family vacation plans.

“That’s our one guilty pleasure,” he said.

Economics professor Peter Orazem of Iowa State University said gasoline costs are about 3 percent of the average household’s budget, so even stark increases in gas prices have a muffled impact on people’s overall expenditures.

In the poll, 40 percent said the fair price for a gallon is less than $2, down from 49 percent a year ago. This year, 49 percent said a fair price for a gallon is $2 to $2.99, with another 6 percent naming even higher prices.

“Markets can train us over time to get used to things,” said Tim Heath, marketing professor at Miami University of Ohio.

The AP-Ipsos poll involved telephone interviews with 1,000 randomly chosen adults between May 15 and 17. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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