Sports Calendar

If so, motorists will have to get used to a new era. There was an outcry a few years ago when it emerged that Mondeo Man — Tony Blair’s target voter — would have to pay £50 to fill up the car. Now, if Mondeo Man still exists, he will have to fork out more than £75, or over £82 if he drives a diesel.

How does £5 a gallon compare with petrol prices in the recent past? The first time motorists paid £1 a gallon was shortly after Margaret Thatcher was elected in 1979 but it took until the eve of her departure from office in 1990, and the first Gulf war, before the £2 a gallon barrier was breached.

In September 2000, when the country was almost brought to a halt by nationwide fuel protests, petrol was 82p a litre, £3.73 a gallon. Ten years earlier, in 1990, prices had been half that level, 41p a litre, 186p a gallon.

The rise during the 1990s, however, had little to do with soaring global oil prices; in 1998 they dropped to just $10 a barrel, though that same year petrol rose above £3 a gallon for the first time.

Rising prices did, however, have plenty to do with the infamous fuel duty escalator, introduced by Kenneth Clarke and embellished by Gordon Brown. This was the policy of raising the tax on petrol, excise duty, by significantly more than inflation each year.

Brown reluctantly abandoned the escalator and for the next four years petrol prices fell, not reaching their 2000 level again until the spring of 2004. But then, as the effect of higher global oil prices came through, forecourt prices moved inexorably higher, hitting £4 a gallon in the summer of 2005.

Adjusting petrol prices for inflation to provide a comparison with current levels shows that the average has been around £3 a gallon.

There have been periods of higher prices — during the first world war motorists paid the equivalent of nearly £7 a gallon — but the current price is about 60% above the long-run average, explaining why motorists are feeling the pain.

What is not clear is whether the pain is making people cut back on their car use. According to the AA, high- mileage drivers and people in rural areas are feeling the pinch hardest. Most of us, however, are unwilling to give up the comfort and convenience of the car, even at £5 a gallon.

“Better-off motorists are absorbing the extra cost into their family budgets and cutting back on other spending, such as going out and home improvements,” said Luke Bosdet of AA Public Affairs.

“High street businesses are feeling the real impact of fuel prices siphoning off money from consumer spending.”

Petrol is one of the most visible prices in the economy. As a regular purchase, people are only too aware of its rising cost. So far, official figures show car use has been steady, even amid the rising cost of fuel and other motoring expenses. Annual mileage per car owner has been flat for a decade. As £5 threatens to turn into £6 a gallon or more, that could change.

Times Recommends

• Minister in talks with Saudis to protect creditors
• Premier Inn hits back in £29-a-room row
• Bankers hit back at 'populist' bonus supertax