If gas prices continue to soar, recreational enthusiasts are willing to "pay to play," according to a Nationwide Mutual Insurance's Fueling Powersports survey.
Nationwide polled 2,518 motorcycle, powerboat, bass boat, RV and travel trailer owners to gauge their sentiments on how fuel prices would affect their powersport vehicle use.
Nearly 70 percent said they would not change their vacation plans because of high prices.
"In fact, enthusiasts say gas would have to cost nearly twice as much before they would stop using their vehicles," Mitch Roggemann, national sales director for Nationwide's Property & Casualty Specialty Products, said in a statement. "This is reflective of the fact that close to 70 percent of all powersporters use time spent on their vehicles as an escape from everyday life."
Powerboaters and bass boaters say gas prices would have to reach $3.26 and $3.17 respectively before they would use their boats less often. That's 50 cents more per gallon than they said last year.
Powerboaters said they would run their boats about 16 minutes less per outing and bass boaters would run their engines about 32 minutes less per outing to save on gas.
www.nationwide.com
