We all know someone who likes to press their luck when the low fuel light comes on in their vehicle.

You're driving down the highway, jamming to some music, when all of the sudden you hear the beep. You look down at your dash and see that your low fuel light just came on. At that time, you start to wonder how far you can drive before your vehicle runs out of gas. It's happened to us all. I know people who drive with that light on more times than they probably should. However, do you know exactly how far you can go before you do run out of gas?

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The last thing you want is to run out of gas on a busy highway or interstate. Obviously, you always want to make sure that you have plenty of gas in your vehicle to get to where you're going, but we all know that you're going to have those "low fuel light" moments. You might be tempted to go by the miles-to-empty display that newer vehicles have equipped on the dash. However, the car repair website, YourMechanic says that you can't always trust that number alone. say you can't rely on that number alone because it is based on your average gas mileage over time, but you're not always going to be in average driving conditions.

YourMechanic

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

LOOK: Route 66’s quirkiest and most wonderful attractions state by state

Stacker compiled a list of 50 attractions--state by state--to see along the drive, drawing on information from historic sites, news stories, Roadside America, and the National Park Service. Keep reading to discover where travelers can get their kicks on Route 66.

See the Must-Drive Roads in Every State

SEE: 11 Unique Attractions You'll Only Find in Indiana

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