Gasoline prices have come down slightly over the last week, but drivers on Long Island says trips to the pump are still hitting their bank accounts hard.

News 12's Kevin Vesey took Thunderbolt 12 out to gas stations in the area to check out the prices.

Gasoline at one Hicksville station was $3.45 a gallon, slightly below the average on Long Island of $3.51. That price is a drop of only 3 cents.

Robert Sinclair Jr., senior manager of public affairs for AAA Northeast, says there is still a lot of pain going on for a lot of drivers.

President Joe Biden recently released 50 million barrels of oil from the United States' reserves, which seems to have cause the price of crude oil to go down.

Optimism over a potentially mild omicron variant sent stocks and oil prices higher again.

Sinclair Jr. says gas prices are probably not going down anytime soon with the holiday travel season coming.

"With that many people out traveling and on the road, that leads to demand going up and prices going up," Sinclair Jr. says. "So prices might be a little lower now, but where they'll go in the near future is really a crap shoot. But I have a feeling they're going to level out, if not go up in the next couple, three weeks."

The cost of natural gas has dropped much more dramatically over the last week and heating oil is down slightly from a month ago.

Energy prices are still much higher than in 2020, which means it could be a long and expensive winter.

Experts say drivers can keep their tires properly inflated and their cars in good running condition to save money on gas.

It could also help to take items out of your trunk.