WASHINGTON -- Last week's dramatic drop in crude oil prices is being reflected at the pump this week.

The average price of a gallon of gas has dropped back below $4 per gallon in 26 states, including Maryland and Virginia, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

"For the first time in weeks the sound the motorist is hearing outside his or her car window is the hum of the falling price of gallon," said John Townsend, AAA Mid-Atlantic's manager of public and government affairs. "In the aftermath of last week's precipitous decline in crude oil futures we are finally seeing a drop in the cost of gasoline. The old rule-of-thumb is still true: Fluctuations in the crude oil market greatly influence changes in gasoline and diesel prices."

The national average is $4.03 per gallon, down from $4.11 a week ago. In D.C. the average is $4.14 compared to $3.99 in Maryland and $3.94 in Virginia. The average for the Washington metropolitan area is $4.04 per gallon.

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"The drop in gas prices might not be as spectacular as some motorists had been hoping for or falling as fast as it went up, but we might be seeing the beginning of a trend toward lower pump prices," Townsend said.

The price of gas is still about 34 percent higher than it was a year ago.