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That's a pretty astounding drop-off, and a great statistic to see touted during National Teen Driver Safety Week.

Rockford area gas prices are currently hovering around $2.19 per gallon, which is 5 cents lower than last week when gas prices only dropped about a penny.

For the 5th straight week, the national average price of gasoline has risen, posting a gain of 0.7 cents over the last week to $1.97 per gallon. Here in Rockford, it's different.

The average gas price has dipped below $2 a gallon, according to both the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the website GasBuddy, which track gas prices.

Gas Buddy says in the past month here in Rockford, gas prices have fallen over 30 cents per gallon.

It's not much, but every little bit helps. After rising at the beginning of January, pump prices are back on the decline in Illinois and northern Indiana heading into February. We're looking at lower prices than last month, but we're still up from this time last year.