Foolish Assumptions About Gas, Or Otherwise?

I was driving with my friends the other day and we had passed a gas station with unleaded prices as low as $1.75. I was ecstatic! Me being a driver for over two years, it's good to see the prices back where they were back in 2006 when I first got a car.

But then my friend piped up, "Those prices are going to shoot right back up in a few more weeks if people don't stop buying gas like crazy." And I was caught off guard like, why wouldn't people be buying gas like crazy when you can fill up your tank for less then twenty dollars? This is great! She replied with the facts. The reason they lower gas prices so low is so that people can appreciate it and lower their gas consumption, meaning driving less. I was confused for a minute or two. That didn't make the slightest bit of sense to me but later I got to thinking that maybe it's true. We probably should take advantage of this time because no matter what happens, the government can do whatever they want with the prices because of how dependent we are on it today. If they see that we can cut back, maybe they'll be nice and keep prices this way. What bothered me was the fact that I didn't know about this. So how many other California drivers don't know this? I don't keep up with politics much but I'm positive I can't be the only one.

For us to change our daily routines to cut on driving can't be an overnight thing, but I know over time we will see more electric cars on the freeway and cars with alternate fuel sources. I don't believe this tactic with lowering gas prices to try and decrease consumption is a very effective idea. There are many people that can't help but drive several miles a day to get to where they need to go. Obviously the solution right now is having more people carpool and take trains. How can we get the word out about this? How can we make this tactic more effective before the prices rise to that dreaded 4 dollars once again?