The Iran-Gulf situation is back in the headlines, oil is over $95 a barrel again, and AAA Michigan is reporting the sharpest 30-day gas price jump since 2022. Every time fuel spikes like this, we see the same patterns in our intake calls.
Roughly 20 percent of the world's seaborne oil moves through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman. Any threat to that traffic — saber-rattling, tanker incidents, missile tests — pushes the spot price of crude up within hours. By the next morning, Michigan refineries are paying more, and within a week, you're paying more at the pump.
It doesn't matter if a single barrel actually fails to move. Markets price in risk, not just supply.
Five things happen every time, and they're all relevant if you end up in an accident: more older, less safe vehicles on the road; more drivers stretching tire and brake replacement intervals; more aggressive lane changes by drivers chasing the cheapest station; more delivery driver burnout from longer routes for the same pay; and a measurable uptick in distracted driving as people fiddle with gas-price apps.
We see all of this in the first 60 days of a sustained spike. Then it normalizes — until the next geopolitical event.
DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart drivers are paid per delivery, not per gallon. When gas goes up, their effective wage goes down. We see more drivers running multiple platforms at once, taking sketchy shortcuts, and skipping vehicle maintenance entirely.
If you're a gig driver, log your fuel costs — you can deduct them. If you're hit by a gig driver in a fuel spike, ask early whether their app was active. Tired, underpaid drivers cause crashes.
Higher fuel costs feed into shipping costs for everything. Imported vehicle parts — OEM and aftermarket — get more expensive and slower to arrive. If your car gets hit during a price spike, expect repair quotes to come in higher and shop wait times to stretch from days to weeks.
If your no-fault claim includes a rental, fight for the longer rental period. Insurers will try to cap it at 30 days when the actual repair backlog is 60. We've successfully pushed back on this in the past.
Auto insurance rates don't respond to fuel prices day-to-day. But carriers do reprice annually based on loss data. After a sustained spike that pushes up accident frequency, expect rate filings 12 to 18 months later. Michigan's no-fault reforms already keep us among the highest in the country — geopolitical fuel spikes amplify that.
Shop your auto policy at renewal. Always.
We're not telling you to panic. We're telling you the conditions you're driving in have changed. More tired drivers, more deferred maintenance, more aggressive moves at the pump. Leave more following distance. Skip the highway shoulder pass to get to the cheaper Speedway. Wear a seatbelt every single trip.
If you do end up in a crash, call us. Free consultation, no fee unless we win.
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