Brian Perry woke up Wednesday morning, packed his lunch and took the school bus to Farmville Central High School.

But he wasn't going to class. He was going to work.

Rhett Butler/The Daily Reflector (ENLARGE)

Tamra Ames puts gas in her car at the Trade Wilco on Greenville Boulevard on Thursday. The rise in gas prices has been especially hard on Ames because she has a daughter with special needs and she has to drive to Durham 2-3 times a month for doctor visits.

Perry teaches social studies and coaches the baseball team at Farmville Central, and like others across Pitt County, he seizes on most any opportunity to cut down on driving and save money.

"I started thinking about it when gas prices started getting ridiculous," Perry said. "It seemed to jump 20 cents (per gallon) in a week or two. I was thinking, if it keeps going up I'm going to ride the bus to save a few bucks."

Perry's cost-cutting idea is indicative of a growing shift in consumer behavior brought on by heightened anxiety about the economy.

When the price gasoline reaches $4 a gallon — and many economists predict it will this summer — it will reach the breaking point for most consumers, according to a study commissioned by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association.

The study estimates 65 percent of American car owners will change their driving behavior at that time.

"We don't have any scientific results for why four dollars is the tipping point," said Rich White, senior vice president of marketing for AAIA. "Most people probably didn't even think (four dollars per gallon) could happen.

"It was almost unimaginable."

Tamra Ames said the higher gas prices make it harder to take her child to the doctor.

Two or three times each month, Ames said, she drives to Durham for her 1-year-old daughter, who has special needs, to get physical and speech therapy.

It now takes $50 to make the trip, she said, nearly double what it used to cost.

"I wish there was another option," said Ames, who is graduating as a medical assistant. "I wish I had a car that didn't cost an arm and a leg.

"With gas prices going up, rent and electricity bills, it's a lot."

Ames said she doesn't visit her family much anymore in Edenton and has been borrowing money from friends — all steps to help offset the rising price of gasoline.

"We're scraping pennies right now," she said. "It's really tough, but we're taking it a day as it goes."

Another study, performed by the consumer market research and analytics company Yankelovich Inc., shows the cost of gasoline as the top economic concern among American consumers.

Of the number surveyed, the study lists 83 percent as being at least fairly worried about gas prices, an eight percent jump since January.

Jeremy Cartner and Matthew Webster, both students at East Carolina University, said they have already cut parts of their budget because of the recent spikes at the gas pump.

Cartner said he discontinued his cable service and has stopped eating out as much.

"It's time to either cut prices on oil or start really looking at alternative fuels," Cartner said. "With the economy like it is, and oil men making all the money, something needs to change."

Similarly, Webster said he substituted a bike for his main mode of transportation.

"Congress needs to do something about these oil companies making record profits," Webster said. "This is getting ridiculous."

There are several ways to improve a vehicle's fuel economy through an ordinary tune-up, said Waylon Williford, co-owner of Import Services.

Drivers can get greater gas mileage out of their cars by changing old spark plugs and air filters, Williford said.

Also, Williford said, filling the tires with nitrogen helps keep the tire pressure equalized at all times, which helps reduce the amount of fuel being used.