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US road deaths are at their lowest since the 1960s as the rocketing price of petrol puts a strain on America’s love affair with the car.

The number of fatalities is on track to fall by 10% this year to around 37,000, the lowest since 1961, according to research suggesting the reduction is due to people cutting out leisure travel to save money.

Nationwide, traffic deaths last dipped below 37,000 in 1961. The number peaked in 1972, at about 55,000, and in recent years has hovered near 42,000.

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Oil prices could be lower than previously expected next year, but the outlook for home heating oil and natural gas signals more pain this winter, according to a government report released Tuesday.

In its August short-term energy outlook, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said it expects crude prices to average $124 a barrel in 2009. That’s down from July when the EIA projected an average price of $133 per barrel.

“Prospects of improved oil market fundamentals over the next 18 months point to an easing in the market balance and price weakness over the near term,” the report said.

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Rising petrol prices are gouging motorists’ hip pockets. We take a look at how petrol prices are set and what you can do to reduce your fuel bills.

Tips on cutting your petrol bill

• Drive carefully. Higher speeds use more fuel. Hard acceleration or braking also burn up petrol.

• If you’re driving a manual, make sure you’re in the right gear. If your car is working too hard, it’s burning too much petrol.

• Avoid driving in peak periods. Constantly stopping and starting your car, or spending long periods idling in traffic, wastes fuel.
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It was interesting to hear US President George Bush, a failed businessman who destroyed the economy his country and took the world hostage to an illegal war that should have never happened.

President Bush urged Congress today to permit drilling for oil off America’s coasts — on the outer continental shelf — to combat rising oil and gas prices. This is the biggest set up in the history of the world.

When Bush took over Whitehouse in 2001, gasoline price hovered between $1 and $2. Today it is between $4 and $5. This is how Bush and his adminiostration helped the oil price rise:
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Facing the toughest political climate in a generation, the oil industry is using a barrage of advertisements to deflect anger over $4 a gallon gasoline prices.

Exxon Mobil has been particularly aggressive, running televised spots during the NBA Finals and network morning talk shows, and buying large print ads in the U.S. and Europe. Chief executive Rex Tillerson appears in one of the ads, which began running earlier this month, discussing the company’s goal of caring for the environment as it provides energy to the world. Ads from other oil companies hit on similar themes: investment in alternative fuels and technology required to produce oil these days.

Exxon’s ads are part of a growing effort by the industry to counter a political backlash against rising oil prices and global-warming worries. Oil companies have traditionally been the bogeyman for consumers during times of rising prices, with ad campaigns often employed to soften the industry’s image.
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Key milestones in the dollar price of crude oil from below $2 in 1970 to Monday’s record $139.89.

- 1970: The official price of Saudi crude oil is fixed at $1.80 per barrel.

- 1974: The price passes $10 after the first oil shock, sparked by the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

- 1979: Oil passes $20 as the Islamic revolution in Iran causes a second oil shock.

- 1980: The price tops $30 for the first time and $39 in early 1981 at the height of the war between Iran and Iraq.
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