NC drivers keep an eye on gas prices

Fayetteville Resident Floyd McMillan isn't taking any chances when it comes to fueling his truck.

“Yeah, just filling up to fill up. I mean, truck on ‘E,’ got to get gas. You don’t want to run out," McMillan said.

There hasn’t been a rush to the pump in Fayetteville following the deadly pipeline explosion in Alabama. The accident threatens to put gas in short supply for states in the Southeast.

“Everybody gets scared as soon as they say gas shortage,” Floyd McMillan said. “Then they got to fuel up at the long line and they say there’s no premium, no regular. It’s just something to scare people with.”

According to AAA, during that spill drivers panicked and started hoarding gas, unnecessarily topping off and filing up fleets of vehicles. Experts warn the panic added to the shortage.

“I think if we did learn something from the last leak in September, it would be that we don’t need to panic at the pump,” said Tiffany Wright, spokeswoman for AAA. “We don’t need to rush out and fill our tanks when we normally wouldn’t, and we don’t need to top off when we normally wouldn’t because that’s honestly what created the shortages.”

So far there hasn't been a surge in gas prices at the pump. There has only been a jump of about one cent per gallon at stations across the state since Monday.

So far the threat of a shortage hasn't caused much of a scare, and prices have remained steady. The average price of gas across the state is $2.18 a gallon, with $2.17 in Raleigh and $2.12 in Fayetteville.