Gas prices are approaching record highs, but so far most Americans do not appear to be drastically cutting back their driving or even their spending as they did in 2008.

The question, economists agreed, is what happens if prices continue to go up and remain high.

Prices for a gallon of regular unleaded gas are topping $4 at more service stations nationwide, revisiting the bleak territory of three years ago, when the average price for a gallon of regular gas reached a peak of $4.11 on July 17, 2008, according to the Oil Price Information Service.

The survey of about 100,000 stations showed gas prices were now averaging $3.77 a gallon nationwide. The average is already more than $4 in California, Hawaii and Alaska, and analysts at the oil information service said drivers were paying more than $4 at some stations in at least three other states — Illinois, Connecticut and New York.

The government’s Energy Information Administration on Monday put the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline slightly higher at $3.79, up 10.7 cents from the previous week and nearly a dollar higher than the same time last year.