When gas prices become water cooler conversation -- like this week, when they hit record highs -- Jason Toews expects his Web site's traffic to spike.

Toews is co-founder of the Minneapolis-based GasBuddy.com, which tracks gas prices with information provided by about 1.4 million volunteers. The site launched in 2000 -- when gas prices hovered between $1 and $1.20, and expanded to included city- and state-specific sites. Atlanta is among the most popular.

"People take it very seriously," Toews says.

And it is serious, he says, if you can save 15 or 20 cents by checking the site and driving a few blocks out of the way.

Volunteers are practically professional gas watchers, tracking prices in notebooks and PDAs with eyes trained to spot stations even in unfamiliar areas. They earn points for updating, which can enter them into gas card drawings, and more importantly, earn bragging rights.

For a few Atlanta volunteers, updating gas prices is part of their daily routine -- part economic, part competition, part community.

Roy Nall, 48, AT&T technical manager

• Daily commute: Home in Lilburn to work in Alpharetta, in a Ford Sport Trac. "I would not have bought it, if I'd known how things are now," he says.

• Favorite place to get gas: Kroger stations, where he can save 10 cents per gallon after buying $100 of groceries.

• How he updates: Nall joined the site in 2003 and says he updates it every day with the 15 stations he passes going from work to home. On weekends, he plugs in whatever stations he happens to pass.

• Why he updates: "I think it's helping somebody somewhere between Lilburn and Alpharetta. It kills time when you're in traffic anyway."

• What trends he sees: "I notice they're quick to jump at anything the news says. The trend may be there, but as soon as it's made in the news, that's their justification to go ahead and put it up, whether they planned to or not."

Kathy Morrison, 50, real estate agent

• Daily commute: Home in Alpharetta to Lithonia, Jonesboro, Roswell, Gainesville and anywhere else her work takes her. A slow day is 50 miles, a big day is 250, in a Ford Expedition or Jaguar XJ. "It's just horrible what we're paying now," she moans.

• Favorite place to get gas: Costco, especially at Cumberland Mall, which often has good prices on premium gas.

• How she updates: Usually from the road with her PDA, sometimes while she's sitting at the gas station waiting for the tank to fill. She has to fill up about three times a week, so she checks in when planning her day and when she notices the needle dip during her commute.

• Why she updates: She'd love to think that sharing information is helping to keep prices down, but "market forces are market forces." She likes saving money and learning what the usual price for an area is. Plus, the members are a community, she says -- she's made some friends through the site, sold houses to people she met on the site and reconnected with old real estate clients there.

• What trend she sees: "Atlanta's got a wide price range, and the cheapest area jumps around. Every once in a while, everybody will be within a few pennies of each other, except Buckhead and Sandy Springs, which really are highest."

OTHER SITES

GasBuddy.com is a national site that tracks gas prices, but it also owns state- and city-based sites that offer news and local prices provided by volunteers.

• AtlantaGasPrices.com: Covers gas prices for Atlanta and other area cities, from Acworth to Woodstock.

• SavannahGasPrices.com: Covers gas prices for Savannah and other area cities, from Allhurst to Wilmington Island.

• GeorgiaGasPrices.com: Covers gas prices for areas around the state, including Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Fort Benning and Macon.