The day gasoline rises to $3.00 gallon is a day worth celebrating

The average cost of filling up a tank of petrol in the States has risen to over £15. That may not sound much in the UK where petrol costs more than double the price, but consider the fact that Americans drive long distances, travel in gas guzzlers, and have to pay tolls on many roads.

Despite being something of a "petrolhead", I have to take issue with the motoring lobby and say that rising petrol prices may actually be a good thing. Many Americans interviewed at the pumps seem mystified as to why the prices keep going up. Maybe somebody ought to point out Saudi Arabia to them on the map!

Saudi Arabia has long been a ticking time bomb but no one has taken any notice. The fact that 15 of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi should have set our alarm bells ringing, but we turned a blind eye because we needed their oil.

In an effort to deflect away criticism, the Saudi regime has incubated terrorism which it has then exported abroad. Now the terrorists have come back to bite the hand that feeds them, which has led to instability on the oil markets. If oil prices continue to rise, we might begin to ask ourselves whether relying on one of the world's most tyrannical and unstable regimes for our energy is a good idea. Then we might start considering alternative sources of energy.

The day we wean ourselves of Saudi oil will be a day worth celebrating.