The Independence day weekend is usually the busiest travel weekend of the summer driving season, but this year, the number of Americans travelling this year will drop 1.9 percent, mostly due to high prices at the pump and economic worries.

That means this year the number of people taking a Fourth of July Day trip will be the fewest since 2000:

The drop in travel isn't nearly as severe as last year, when July 4 travel sank 10.5 percent as drivers steered away from $4 a gallon gasoline, but the recent rise in gasoline prices-- about 9 percent from memorial day through June 12-- are likely taking their toll on American consumers, AAA said.

Are you planning to travel over the Fourth of July weekend?

For those who've decided to invest in more fuel efficient cars, however, the choice is now paying off. Jose Ferro, a cab driver who was also filling up at the 46th St. station began leasing a hybrid taxi about eight weeks ago said the higher leasing fee is already paying off as gasoline prices climb higher.

Ferro, 72, a retired television commercial producer, who has been driving a cab for about three years said he used to fork out $38-$45 to fill up the Ford he used to lease, compared with about $10 to fill up the hybrid, which means a little bit extra take-home pay.

Despite Americans' complaints about the rising cost of gasoline, Reuters data shows that the price Americans are paying for gasoline is well below prices drivers in many other developing countries pay.

While the summer driving season has been underway for only two weeks, gasoline prices have already blown expert forecasts for highs for the summer.

Average prices at the pump on Monday were $2.62 a gallon, according to AAA, up 16 percent from just a month ago, and over the $2.50 a gallon high that AAA had forecast for the entire summer. Last week, AAA spokesman Geoff Sundstrom said the group revised its forecast for the summer high to $2.75 a gallon.

Although prices are much lower than the $4 a gallon national average a year ago, experts say the prices will hurt American consumers already hard hit by the recession.

How are higher U.S. gasoline prices affecting you? Are you cutting back on other expenses in order to keep your car fueled up? Are you considering cutting back on driving? Are you worried about prices moving a lot higher?

Another designer at Fashion Week, Thuy Diep, who designs the line Thuy, said her company has trimmed their overhead by buying fabrics in New York this year instead of making the trip to Paris. She has also made it a point to make fewer rough drafts of her designs in order to save money. And even smaller details have not been overlooked for cost-cutting potential-- Thuy said she is taking the subway instead of cabs, for example.

For more, read Reuters coverage of emerging designers at Fashion Week.

Twelve of the people charged with gasoline theft were New Jersey government employees, who allegedly filled up their personal vehicles at state-owned gas pumps. The degrees of theft varied wildly, from stealing 12 gallons to more than $1,000 worth gasoline, the press release said.

But with the average price of gasoline now north of $4 per gallon, the alleged gasoline thieves may have company. According to the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, "drive-off" thefts, where customers fill up and then take off without paying are on the rise.

But pricey gasoline still tops the American consumer's list of worries, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), which released its second annual consumer survey on Monday.

About half of U.S. consumers (45%) say they're more likely to change their spending habits due to high gasoline prices than they would for rising home energy costs (26%), rising food costs (24%), a slowdown in the economy (22%) or the mortgage and lending crisis (13%).

Most American drivers haven't cut back on their driving yet though. Thirteen percent said they've already cut back, and another 50% said they'll hit the brakes at $3.25 (a penny higher than the current record of $3.24 in May 2007)

During the last year, soaring gasoline prompted 19 percent to switch away from gas guzzler; another 19 percent said they just thought about it.

Higher gasoline prices have consumers literally pinching pennies, the survey said, with 38% willing to drive 5 minutes or more out of their way just to save 1 cent.

Will going out of the way pay off for thrify consumers? Most likely, they'll be driving themselves into the red, losing about $1.40, says NACS.