CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said troopers are seeing more drivers stranded on the roads from running out of gas.

Charlotte gas station attendants told Eyewitness News that with gas prices at $4 a gallon or more, drivers are putting less gas in their tanks. Drivers then push their fuel gauge to the limit, and end up running out of gas on the roads.

Trooper Jeff Nash said some people don’t even make it to the shoulder of the road when they’re out of fuel, and end up stranded in the middle of the highway.

Nash said drivers should only let their gas tanks get as low as a quarter full.

“In some of the rural areas, you may go 20 or 30 miles, and with the way gas prices are and with the way some vehicles consume fuel, you may not make it,” Nash said. “So you need to take into account your family and their safety, and also the safety of other drivers on the roadway.”

One gas station attendant told Eyewitness News some people are getting creative by only letting their gas tanks get as low as a half-tank. When they go to fill up, it costs half as much as it would to fill up completely.