WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — It’s a troubling trend tied to rising gas prices. Warren Police are warning of more and more drivers simply running out of fuel on the roadway.
Drivers across Metro Detroit are not just feeling the impact of high gas prices, but are now sometimes being forced to choose between money & safety.
We asked driver Tyesha Mitchell, “When you look at where gas prices are, do you see a correlation between that and people running out of gas?”
“Yes, I can see it being very easy to run out,” she answered.
She also added, “People are trying to wait until the last minute or so if prices drop or what.”
Commissioner Bill Dwyer sat down to talk with us about the death of a 21-year-old motorcycle driver earlier this morning.
“3:20 am. Mound north of 696. Pushing his bike and had run out of gas in fact. Struck from behind. It was a fatal,” said Dwyer.
He points out it’s unknown why the bike owner ran out of gas, and the driver who struck him did pull over to call 911. That said, Dwyer is also sounding the alarm after learning of another statistic.
He says, “AAA road service for people running out of gas has gone up 60% in 6-12 months. People can’t afford $100, so they’ll put $20 in. They hope it will last long enough and are running out of gas.”
AAA says supply and demand, along with the cost of crude oil are driving the trend pushing prices higher. .
“I’ve seen people on the side of the road stopping or having to push their cars,” says Mitchell.
Dwyer adds, “Certainly your life is more important than running out of gas & being killed.” He also says other police agencies often switch to 2 person patrol units to save on gas as well.
