KNOXVILLE (WVLT) -- A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline now costs nearly $4, which is one of the reasons that the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s Help Patrol has fueled more cars this year than in the past.

The American Automobile Association is also delivering record amounts of fuel to stranded drivers. From June to the middle of July, more than 520 drivers have needed a roadside fill-up from AAA East Tennessee, which is up by more than 75 from last year.

Of all the 800 tools on Mark Gault’s AAA Emergency Services Truck, a simple red plastic jug used to transport fuel is one of the most used.

“As the gas prices go up and up, we have to use it more and more often," the AAA technician said.

An increasing amount of drivers are gambling against their gas gauges according to Gault’s employer. That means growing numbers of drivers are finding themselves out of gas on East Tennessee’s highways.

"We were averaging maybe one or two calls a month last year,” Gault said. “Now it's three a four a week."

The amount of AAA members needing gas for and empty fuel tank has increased by about 20 percent over this time last year.

"The first words out of their mouths are, ‘thank god you're here,’” said Gault, “the second is that they're embarrassed they had to call you out."

TDOT crews have also seen an increased role as roadside rescuers. They have filled up stranded vehicles with about 370 more gallons of gas compared to last year.

Both will only give you about a gallon of fuel, enough to make it to the nearest gas station. If you run out of diesel, you have to prime your engine’s pump which could take another 30 minutes.

Jamie Dyal ran out of fuel a couple of years ago, which taught him an important lesson about paying attention to his fuel gauges.

"It was pretty close today,” Dyal said as he pumped gallons of regular unleaded into his car. “My gas light was on, it was making a beeping noise and I tried to find the closest gas station."

According to AAA, by not taking the chance, drivers like Dyal avoid badly damaging their vehicles.

"When you run out of gas, your car tries to suck up the sediments in your gas tank,” Gault said. “That sediment can clog up the filter and injectors along with burn up your fuel pump."

AAA estimates that the cost to repair damage caused by a drained tank will run about $1,500.