Georgia gas prices break national record overnight

ATLANTA — The average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline hit a national record Tuesday. On Wednesday, Georgia followed the national’s lead.

AAA releases the latest gas prices every morning around 3 a.m. and their numbers show a new record for Georgia.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas rose overnight from $4.060 to $4.168. The average price for a gallon of diesel rose from $4.750 to $4.881.

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Both prices broke the previous records set 14 years ago: $4.164 on Sept. 15, 2008 for unleaded and $4.858 for diesel on July 17, 2008.

The state still sits just below the national average of $4.252, although a few counties are right at or above the national average.

AAA website shows the highest averages are in the Atlanta, Savannah and Brunswick regions. A full county-by-county map of prices can be found here.

Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach took a tour of metro Atlanta gas stations Wednesday, where gas prices were quickly approaching $5 a gallon in many places.

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Drivers said that despite the prices, they are willing to pay up.

“Even if it’s $5, it gets me to the corner,” one driver said. “It’s something. Better than just walking.”

UGA economics professor Jeffrey Dorfman said you should get used to the higher prices.

“It’s going to stay up until the hostilities are over,” Dorfman said.

Dorfman suggested that the best way to ride it out is by cutting down on your mileage.

“You can carpool, you can combine trips,” Dorfman said. “If you can work from home, work from home and save driving the car.”

AAA said that using less gas overall starts with keeping up with routine maintenance.

“Your oil changes, making sure your tire pressures are where they’re supposed to be,” officials said. “That is a great, great tool for saving gas.”

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the U.S. will ban all Russian oil imports and acknowledged it will bring costs to Americans, particularly at the gas pump.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday that he is working on suspending the state’s gas tax. That would save people 29 cents per gallon.

Kemp said because of the state’s conservative budgeting over the last couple of years, he is “confident we will be able to provide relief to hardworking Georgians - both in the form of a tax refund and lower gas taxes.”

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has been advocating for a suspension of the federal government’s gas tax. Warnock is co-sponsoring a bill to suspend collections until Jan. 1.

Both Warnock and Kemp are seeking reelection this year.

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Governor to suspend gas tax amid rising prices over Ukraine conflict Gas prices across metro Atlanta have already spiked over $4 a gallon for regular gas.

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