Bad news for drivers: The state’s average price for regular gasoline is rolling along at record highs for this time of year.

The average was $3.844 a gallon on Wednesday, down about a penny from Monday, according to AAA. That’s more than 20 percent higher than the old record of $3.143 set in 2007 and again in 2010, according to the Los Angeles Times.

While the rest of the lower 48 states have lower gas prices — Alaska and Hawaii are more than $4 a gallon — California drivers take it in the pocket book partly because of our source of crude oil. We also pay high taxes on gas.

Rob Schlichting, a spokesman for the state Energy Commission, said about half of California’s oil comes from Alaska and California and the rest from foreign sources, including the Mideast and South America.

Earlier this week, Alaska crude was going for $110 a barrel and San Joaquin crude for $105 a barrel. That compares to West Texas Intermediate crude, which is about $92 a barrel and which much of the rest of the country uses. WTI also generally is the crude you hear quoted in news reports about oil prices.

Schlichting said WTI is cheaper now than Alaska and California crude because there’s a glut of it and producers are willing to take a lower price to get rid of it.

“We’re a market to ourselves on the West Coast,” he said, noting there are no pipelines bringing crude into California from the east.

And California’s price is susceptible to any production or refinery problems in the state, he said.

Santa Rosa’s average price Wednesday matched the state’s at $3.844. That’s slightly down from $3.861 a week ago and $3.891 a month ago but much higher than the $3.165 a year ago. The record high for Santa Rosa is $4.55 on June 19, 2008.

Follow the Road Warrior on Twitter via @PDRoadWarrior