There is nothing amusing about gas prices rolling past $4 per gallon. Right now gas prices are a popular topic and a lot of discussion centers on how much someone just paid for a tank of gas.

It's not a pretty conversation.

However, there is some amusement in this as I watch how some people drive despite how much they complain about the price of gasoline.

I travel on West Eldorado Street frequently. I drive it enough that I have figured out when traffic lights will change.

For example, if you are driving east and are required to stop at the light at Eldorado and Oakland Avenue, you likely won't make the light at Van Dyke Street. If you are driving 30 mph, the light will turn red about the time you get to the parking lot of the Subway restaurant on the south side of Eldorado.

There are other predictable traffic light patterns that an observant driver can figure out. But the bottom line is if you drive the speed limit, accelerate slowly and pay attention, you can hit a lot of green lights.

But some people still drive on Eldorado as if there were no concern over gas prices. They race to get to the next light, braking quickly before zooming to the next red light. It's even funnier when I use a steadier pace and am able to proceed through an intersection before one of my jackrabbit-start compatriots.

There was a time when I had serious lead-foot tendencies. As a competitive person at heart, I took great pride in being able to reach an intersection before someone else did. But I have tried to channel that competitiveness in a different direction.

I am trying to look at driving as more of a game where the prize is better gas mileage, which leads to using less fuel.

So far, it seems to be paying off with improved in-town gas mileage. Sticking closer to the posted speed limit on interstates - admittedly never a strong suit for me - has also proved to boost the miles per gallon my vehicle gets.

There are a number of e-mails going around, too, about steps the driving public can take to push down the cost of gas. A number of these e-mails have been making the rounds for years.

One popular e-mail has to do with the idea that if people avoided buying gas from two of the major oil companies - Exxon and Mobil were the most popular targets - it would force them to cut prices to move product. Another frequent e-mail has to do with a national "gas-out" where people choose one particular day to not buy gas.

If you wonder about whether these theories are true, the Web site www.snopes.com is a great place to check them out. A few actually have some basis, but most are thoroughly debunked.

As for the first question, www.snopes.com quotes an economics professor from Saint Louis University who said not buying gas from the big companies would prove the law of unintended consequences as people would buy gas from fewer stations and end up paying more for it. Similarly, the site says a national "gas-out" would not do anything to prices unless it was linked to an effort to reduce the number of miles driven.

If you want to feel a little more confident about the veracity of e-mails you want to forward, www.snopes.com is a smart place to check.

Managing Editor Dave Dawson, a reformed lead-footed driver, can be reached at ddawson@herald-review.com or 421-7980.