Southern drivers stung most by fuel costs: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Drivers in the South have been hit hardest by soaring U.S. gasoline costs and state governments there should take more steps to help cut fuel consumption, said a report released on Tuesday.

Average motorists in Mississippi spent nearly 8 percent of their incomes on gasoline in 2007 and drivers in South Carolina and Georgia spent more than 7 percent, according to the report released on Tuesday by environmental group the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Meanwhile, drivers in the Northeast spent the least amount of their incomes on fuel with Connecticut motorists paying just over 3 percent. Drivers in New York spent about 3.3 percent and motorists in Massachusetts spent about 3.5 percent.

The report comes as the federal government has been hard-pressed to protect consumers, already hit by the housing and credit crunches, from average retail gasoline prices that are bubbling near record levels of above $4.11 per gallon hit earlier in the month.

The report, called "Fighting Oil Addiction: Ranking States' Oil Vulnerability and Solutions for Change," ranked the states for their setting of fuel conservation measures like incentives for buying fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles, slowing suburban sprawl, and targets for reducing driving.

The federal government should lead cuts in fuel demand by setting fuel-economy standards for cars and heavy trucks, the report said.

Presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama have also said they support economy-wide emissions caps on greenhouse gases, which could help phase out gas guzzling vehicles.

In addition, "states can do a whole lot more than they realize to cut fuel costs," said Deron Lovaas, vehicle campaign director for the NRDC.

California, New York and Connecticut ranked highest in the report in the number of steps taken to fight consumption.

Mississippi had not taken any of the 10 conservation steps in the report while South Carolina had taken two and Georgia, three. All three states ranked low on the priority they had given to mass transit.

Some of the conservation steps taken by states, including research and development grants for fuels and cars, have been adopted too recently to measure their impacts on consumption. But the states that have acted should log cuts in demand similar to the way states like California have slashed per capita power demand after taking conservation steps on electricity, Lovaas said.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner, editing by Marguerita Choy)