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| March 4, 2011
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Driving Up 0.7% Last Year |
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Americans drove 3 trillion miles in 2010, the most vehicle miles traveled since 2007 and the third-highest total ever recorded, the Federal Highway Administration announced Wednesday.
FHWA data shows that Americans drove 0.7% more, or 20.5 billion additional vehicle miles traveled, in 2010 than the previous year. Travel increased by 0.6% in December 2010 compared to the previous December, the 10th consecutive month of increased driving. "More driving means more wear and tear on our nation's roads and bridges," U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood said in a statement released Wednesday. "This new data further demonstrates why we need to repair the roads and bridges that are the lifeblood of our economy." Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez said the "Traffic Volume Trends" reports are critical to identifying and evaluating patterns of use on America's road system, which help inform the federal government's decisions about investments in critical infrastructure. The December 2010 report is available at bit.ly/VMT1210. Questions regarding this article may be directed to editor@aashtojournal.org. |