Michigan gas prices continue to fall; drivers urged to be alert as school begins again

Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press
·3 min read
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Michigan's price of gasoline at the pump continued to fall from last week, but in metro Detroit it remained the same, according to AAA, which tracks it and also offered a warning Monday to drivers, cyclists and pedestrians as schools start again.

"Drivers should have a heightened sense of awareness from the moment they leave the driveway," AAA spokeswoman Adrienne Woodland said, noting that the roadways get more crowded and hazardous as schools return to session. "Expect more foot traffic in neighborhoods and along city streets."

A customer re-fuels her car.
A customer re-fuels her car.

Gas prices in Michigan were down 4 cents, with drivers paying $3.91 a gallon for regular unleaded, and only a penny more than the national average. The price was 57 cents less in Michigan than it was last month, but still 75 cents more than this time a year ago.

In terms of a fill-up for a 15-gallon tank: that's an average of $59.

In metro Detroit, however, the price was still $3.99 a gallon, unchanged from last week but just below $4 a gallon.

The most expensive average gas prices throughout the state were in:

  • Traverse City: $4.15

  • Ann Arbor: $4.04

  • Marquette: 4.02

The least expensive:

  • Flint: $3.75

  • Saginaw: $3.77

  • Grand Rapids: 3.78

The drop in gas prices reflects lower demand for gas because the higher prices, more than $5 a gallon this summer, has been lower, combined with a decline in oil prices and and aggressive pursuit by politicians to keep it low.

In July, President Joe Biden didn't hesitate to note at the White House after Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador joked that Americans were crossing the border to buy cheaper gas that prices were falling, according to news reports.

He later repeated that during a meeting with his economic team.

And Sunday, NBC reported the White House touted the less than $4 a gallon gas price to talk up Biden's response to record-high oil prices and push back on Republicans who blamed him for the spike.

Still, the network added, oil traders, industry executives and former administration officials warned "that prices could easily rise again as many of the issues that contributed to the spike in early summer are still a factor."

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Meanwhile, the auto club also urged drivers to be alert and slow down.

Children, the club said, can move across the road unexpectedly, so it’s important to "constantly scan the road for people while driving and be ready to stop at a moment’s notice."

And, it added, avoid distractions while driving like using your cellphone or eating.

AAA's survey of 5,000 people, including 400 in Michigan, in early July found many drivers — ages 18 and older — speed and use their handheld mobile phone while driving through a school zone.

Of the Michiganders surveyed, 37% acknowledged speeding in an active school zone, 27% used their cellphone cell phone while driving in active school zones and 19% sped around a school bus while its lights were flashing.

Car crashes, the auto club said, are one of the leading causes of death for teens in the United States, and nearly one in four fatal crashes involving teen drivers occur between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., after school.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: As school starts, Michigan gas prices are down