Office of Public Affairs
FHWA 08-09
Contact: Doug Hecox
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Tel.: (202) 366-0660
Decline In American Driving Still Evident
Into Second Year, National Trend Tops 122 Billion Miles
WASHINGTON – New estimates released today show the decline in American
driving continued in January 2009 with 7 billion fewer vehicle-miles
traveled (VMT), or 3.1 percent less, compared to the same month a year
earlier. This is the first “back-to-back” decline for January since
1981-1982.
The decline now exceeds 122 billion VMT, compared to the same 14-month
period – December 2006 to January 2008 – a year earlier. A recent
end-of-the-year data calibration adjusted the November 2007 data,
revealing that the trend did not begin in November 2007, as originally
reported, but rather in December 2007.
As it has since the trend began, the decline in rural driving in January
2009 outpaced urban driving.
The new data show the North Central area – a bloc of 12 states ranging
from Ohio to the Dakotas – experienced the biggest regional decline at 6
percent fewer VMT compared to January 2008. At 10.2 percent fewer VMT,
Ohio led the nation with the largest single-state decline that month.
Despite the overall national decline, the West – a bloc of 13 states
including Hawaii and Alaska – posted an increase of .2 percent. It is the
West’s first increase in estimated VMT since the national decline began.
To review the VMT data in FHWA’s “Traffic Volume Trends” reports,
including that of January 2009, visit
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/tvtw/tvtpage.htm.
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DOT Briefing Room
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