The debate over increasing gas prices has just about everyone talking. Most of the arguments weigh heaviest towards negative connotations about the subject but are there any positives to gas prices hitting $4 a gallon and continuing to rise? According to a recent U.S. study, researchers believe there just may be some silver lining around the high-priced fuel debate.

Professors Michael Morrisey of the University of Alabama and David Grabowski of Harvard Medical School have found that for every 10% increase in gas prices there is a 2.3% decline in the number of automobile deaths. Breaking the numbers down even further they found that for drivers between the ages of 15 and 17 the decline was around 6% while those who fell between 18 and 21 years old had a 3.2% drop in auto deaths.

The number of automobile deaths in the U.S. typically ranges from 38,000 to 40,000 deaths a year and researchers are predicting that if gas prices continue to rise, that amount could possibly be reduced by a third. Of course, there is a vice versa complex that is at work here as well. If and when gas prices decline, there’s a great chance drivers will begin to increase the amount of driving they do thus raising the risk for automobile deaths again. But for now, the possibility that high gas prices may save some lives is actually very encouraging and plausible. Since the beginning of 2008 the number of drivers on the road has decreased drastically as many families are deciding to engage in staycations, enjoying certain summer activities around their hometowns, because of the hole that gas prices are burning into people’s wallets.

So it would appear that what was once viewed as a very negative economical change may now have extremely positive effects for drivers. Only time will tell where the debate goes from here.

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