With high gas prices, cruising takes a bruising

Instead of driving around, teens are leaving cars parked on long summer nights. SCHAUMBURG, Ill. -- For car-loving teenagers, this is turning out to be the summer the cruising died. Kevin Ballschmiede, 16, pined for his 1999 Dodge Ram – “my pride and joy” – the other night as he hung out in a lot in this town outside Chicago. Given that filling the 26-gallon tank can now cost more than $100, he had left it at home and caught a ride. U.S. teenagers appear to be driving less this summer. Police officers who keep watch on weekend cruising zones say fewer youths are spending their time driving around in circles, with more of them hanging out in parking lots, malls or movie theaters. The price spike in gasoline, to an average of $4.07 a gallon for regular, is so recent that government statistics do not yet capture the... [read full story]