Q&A: Oil and gas prices

Q: It may be a bit of an exaggeration. But Donna Oiland of Lake Forest Park is almost convinced that in these days of soaring gas prices, service-station attendants are camped out at the signs showing the price. Some days, gas prices seem to change more than once.

"I would drive by a station in the morning and it would be one price, and that afternoon it would have jumped 10 cents," she said. If the gas is already in tanks at the station, why does the price suddenly jump up? Is it just because somewhere else in the world, the price of oil went up?

And when the price of oil drops, shouldn't the price of gas drop, too?

A: According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the cost of crude oil is the single largest factor in determining the cost of a gallon of gas. And crude-oil prices, established by global commodities markets, have been running high. Then, too, there are taxes and costs associated with refining, marketing and transporting the gas.

Industry observers say station operators need to first cover the costs of purchasing the gas they sell and factor in enough money to purchase the next load.

When crude prices go up or are projected to go up, station operators may increase their pump prices to make sure they will be able to afford higher wholesale prices down the road, industry observers say. And when crude prices drop, they may — or may not — decide to reduce the pump price.

It's also a matter of what the market will bear. "After all, the business of selling gasoline is fiercely competitive and governed by the laws of supply and demand," said Tupper Hull, spokesman for the Los Angeles-based Western States Petroleum Association, which represents the major oil companies in the West in public-policy development and public relations.

As a trade organization of competing oil companies, Hull says his association doesn't collect price information from its members. And the association steers clear of offering predictions about gas prices.

Tim Hamilton, executive director of the Automotive United Trades Organization (AUTO), a nonprofit trade association of gasoline dealers, says it's pretty fruitless for the consumer to look at crude-oil prices to try to determine what prices will be at the pump.

"The wholesale price charged the dealer is what drives the pump price, and the wholesale price that the oil companies charge the gas dealer doesn't track crude oil prices."

Rather than following the price of crude oil, Hamilton, whose organization is based in Grays Harbor County, says wholesale prices the oil companies charge the gas station depend on available inventory and what the market will bear.

But it's true: Changes in the price of crude oil don't always seem to be followed immediately by changes in gas prices at the pump. And with gas stations competing for business, the price at the pump can change several times in a single day.

Q: Not long ago, Laurelhurst resident and Seattle Times colleague Sharon Lane noticed a car stopped on her residential street by University of Washington campus police on a weeknight, and wondered just how far the campus police force's jurisdiction extends.

A: The university's police force, which has 52 full-time commissioned officers, has primary jurisdiction over the entire campus — all 680 acres of it. In addition, the campus police department has mutual-aid agreements with Seattle's police department and several others around the state.

That means, says UW police Assistant Chief Ray Wittmier, that campus police can respond and take action anywhere within those jurisdictions.

Campus police are empowered to make traffic stops, make arrests and generally do anything other police agencies can do. "We have full police powers," said Wittmier.

Wittmier said campus police don't routinely seek calls outside campus or unrelated to the university, "but when it's close to campus, if there's something serious or a serious safety issue, we will take action on that."

Lots of university-related activity takes place off-campus, such as on Greek Row in the University District. In the case of an off-campus shooting last Tuesday night during an attempted armed robbery in the University District, in the 4200 block of University Way Northeast, campus police also responded.

Campus police can process arrests at their headquarters west of the UW's Health Sciences complex at the southwest corner of campus, and transport detainees downtown to King County Jail.

In the case of the Laurelhurst stop, it could have been that campus police trailed the car from campus. But Wittmier says campus police don't make a habit of patrolling Laurelhurst.

Q: North Seattle resident Mark Anderson knows that state law requires some vehicles to have mud flaps or fenders behind rear tires, and that the full width of the tire from the top of the tire to at least the axle must be covered.

Passenger cars generally comply with the law. But not the Hummers that Anderson has seen. He labels those beefy sport-utility vehicles "aggressively non-compliant."

"I seldom see mud flaps on them, and they are sold with a full three-quarters of the back tire tread exposed. These monsters are kicking up debris and surface water all over the place.

"There ought to be a law. No, wait. There is one. Is it ever enforced?"

A: Yes, it is the law. And yes, the law can be enforced, says Christine Fox, the Washington State Patrol's equipment and standards-review manager. But it's up to officers on the road.