The Highway Patrol hopes to avoid running out of gas later this year.
Big jumps in fuel prices for families with one or two cars are one thing. But suppose your family has 1200 cars, full-sized sedans, with V-8 engines. Suppose your budget was based on gasoline costing less than half what it is today.
The Highway Patrol is going to need more money about halfway through the fiscal year because the budget is based on gasoline costing $1.60 a gallon. He says the Patrol will probably have to ask for a supplemental appropriation in November.
Patrol spokesman Tim Hull says troopers have been told to do so-called “stationary patrols”—stopping by the side of the road, engine idling, and influencing traffic flow by their presence. But he says troopers will still respond to calls for assistance. But he says officers have been told to do stationary patrols or stationary observations whenever they can to stretch fuel supplies.