Sky-high gas prices have grabbed the attention of all Americans, as national prices push $5 per gallon and soar to nearly $7 in some places.
Those prices have more people pushing their gas tanks to empty as they attempt to do whatever they can to avoid the high prices at the pump. But sometimes pushing a tank that’s on empty means you’ll run out of gas. And for the people whose job it is to rescue stranded motorists, it means more work.
AAA reported that 50,000 more drivers needed roadside assistance with fuel in April alone. Dallas County has seen a 20% spike in motorists needing fuel since March.
On a Friday morning in Dallas, Coda Mosley begins his day filling up red gas cans at a gas station. He works for a roadside gas rescue team whose job it is to deliver gas to stranded drivers whose tanks have gone empty.
“If a gallon won’t do it, we will give them two gallons,” Mosley said. “Our mission is to make sure we get them off the freeway.”
Mosley has been working on the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department’s Courtesy Patrol for 15 years, helping get stranded drivers off the roadways. But lately, he has noticed an uptick in the number of people running out of gas versus those needing assistance with issues such as flat tires.
“A lot of them will say ‘we just tried to make it,’ and they don’t,” Mosley said.
Stranded driver Cesar Najera tried to push his car past empty to no avail. He said high gas prices have changed the way his family drives.
“Just have to move money around,” Najera said. “$15-20 bucks would give a third or close to half a tank in this car, and now $15-20 bucks gives you maybe an eighth if you’re lucky.”
