U.S. Drivers Hitting The Road Less

Spurred By High Gas Prices, 12.2 Billion Fewer Miles Driven In June Than Year Before

(AP)  As summer vacation season kicked in, Americans got out of their cars, driving 12.2 billion fewer miles in June than the same month a year earlier.

The 4.7 percent decline, which came while gas prices were peaking, was the biggest monthly driving drop in a downward trend that began in November, the Federal Highway Administration said Wednesday.

"Clearly, more Americans chose to stay close to home in June than in previous years," said Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.

Overall, Americans drove 53.2 billion fewer miles November through June than they did over the same eight-month period a year earlier, according to the highway agency's latest monthly report on driving. That's a larger decline than the 49.3 billion fewer miles driven by Americans over the entire decade of the 1970s, a period marked by oil embargoes and gas lines, the agency said.

Travel Industry Association spokeswoman Cathy Keefe said the June driving decline "is not surprising, given the environment that we were in." But she was optimistic that the recent drop in gas prices to below $4 a gallon in many parts of the country will have travelers on the road again.

"I think people have started to take the increase in gas prices somewhat more in stride," Keefe said. The trade association is predicting only a 1.2 percent decline in all forms of business and leisure travel this year.

Some of the biggest declines in June compared with a year ago were in such popular vacation states as Maine, down 7 percent, and Florida, down 6 percent. Western states with wide-open spaces were also part of the trend - down 7.7 percent in Montana, 6.9 percent in Washington, 6.8 percent in Wyoming, 6.7 percent in Nevada, 6.2 percent in Kansas and 6.1 percent in Alaska. Ohio saw a 4.6 percent decline.

The June driving data, collected by more than 4,000 automatic traffic recorders operated round-the-clock by state highway agencies, were supported by a telephone survey by AARP of people age 50 and over in which 67 percent said they have cut back on their driving because of high gas prices.

Four in 10 said they have used public transportation, walked or ridden a bicycle more frequently since gas prices have risen, according to the AARP poll, which was being released Wednesday.

Elinior Ginzler, AARP's senior vice president for livable communities, said she's concerned that communities don't have adequate sidewalks, bus shelters, bike lanes and public transportation options as more people look for other means to get around.

"More Americans age 50-plus are trying to leave their cars behind but face obstacles as soon as they walk out the door, climb on their bikes or head for the bus," Ginzler said.

AARP polled 1,006 people nationally between July 9 and July 15. The poll has margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Gas consumption was down, too. The highway administration said motorists consumed 400 million fewer gallons of gasoline and 318 million fewer gallons of diesel in the first quarter of 2008 than in the same period in 2007.

Peters said the decline in driving will mean less money for highway repairs and construction projects needed to relieve traffic congestion. The Highway Trust Fund, which underwrites the projects, is funded by the federal 18.4 cents a gallon tax on gasoline and 24.4 cents a gallon tax on diesel.

The driving drop was not all bad, however.

"There is at least one silver lining in what's otherwise fairly painful news and that is that less driving means less air pollution and fewer global warming emissions," said Frank O'Donnell of the environmental group Clean Air Watch. Emissions from cars and trucks, along with power plants, are the top sources of air pollution, he said.

[bm6005]

''Bout frickin time!!!

[ceehelmuth]

Funny how the only REAL motivator always comes down to $$$$$ - NOT what''s right and wrong for individuals or the planet.

[u-r-right]

Now if the ones still using the roads would just SLOW DOWN! I do 60 on the highway and still have people passing me doing at least 75. Then comes a stoplight and I catch right up to them.

[slim1h2o]

With gas prices, food prices, who can afford to go anywheres but to work and back, or to the store and back?

[mycomment-2009]

Who will have the last laugh, you stupid, greedy, republicans?! Probably, Bin Laden.
Posted by Voltaire777 at 11:17 AM : Aug 13, 2008

Thanks for the info....I wasn''t aware that it was only the republicans who were using up all the gas and polluting the planet. I''m only confused about one thing....how come all the dems are dead since they obviously don''t eat, drink, drive, fly, use heat or air, shop, have garbage or waste, etc.

[ibzjem]

Oh GAWD you''''re not droning on about that global warming c.r.a.p are you? Here it''''s in the 60''''s and normally it''''s in the upper 90s. Maybe that 1970''''s global cooling panic will come back now? What a joke. People are going to drive and not care about the planet. How about letting people work at home? Why not make corporations responsible for something other than stealing and destroying lives?


Posted by MyOpinion1 at 12:26 PM : Aug 13, 2008

OH MY GAWD!!! How many times does it have to be said on this board???? Global warming is not representative of what''s going on in your back yard at any given moment. It''s tiring to read the same stupid comments. GW 101: The climate will change and have more drastic swings. That means, yes, hot and cold weather across the globe. Just because it''s cool in your yard right now does not mean the whole earth is cooling. It''s not raining right now in mine, but that does NOT mean it''s not raining anywhere on earth.

[ibzjem]

What we need here is more train systems. Get the cars and large trucks that are traveling cross country off the road. We are soooo behind in public transportation.

Another result of the "me me me" philosophy so rampant here.

[gop_forever]

Driving less is so unpatriotic.

[jtdev1]

Enough already.

We need a law that forces everyone to go out and buy a Hummer H2-SUT (Yup, a whole 7.6 Mpg), raise the speed limits and drive like there''s no tomorrow.

We need to use up all this oil/gas and fast. Then and only then will anyone with any clout do anything to develop an alternative to oil/gas.

Additionally, it would speed up this global warming thing and the world would start mending....

To me, the faster the better!

[jtdev1]

Never thought of that..


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Posted by donnie10010



It''s called "Out Sourcing"

[duffyn]

Sorry, global warming is not ***. It is happening as we write. What''s happening in your back yard at the moment doesn''t mean jack s. What matters is what is happening to the entire earth and it is heating up due to excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Sure the earth does go through big changes periodically, but we are causing this one.

[meanbiker]

Voltaire777 So only Repugs burn oil? and keep us Dependant on oil? Please explain..

I think the issue here is that politicians will have to come up with a new way to tax the American people because we drive less.. So we spend less on not only oil products.. but autos.. food, lodging..auto repairs.. Etc.. Where I live the politicians have been crying because we are burning less fuel.. and that means they will have to tax something else to make up for the loss income for the state.. Poor babies.. they still passed their wage increase..

They also recently passed a smoking ban.. Now those same politicians are singing the blues that they don''t have the funding for projects that they received Cig tax from.. I quite.. let them find their tax else where.. I''m taxed out..

[barbaram99]

I stay home. Seattle is full of cars. Drive less where they pull that from. I have the right of way as all white cane users do. I have to stand for along time. Use the bus and walk. Rush hour yep. We walk to the store and buy on sale. I love it if there were fewer cars on the road. I ''member a day when that was so. We had clear pretty blue sky. Not what ye see today.

[bobmarisol]

Why aren''t people driving more? Didn''t they hear Barack Obama? All they have to do to save money at the pump is inflate their tires!! No need for that pesky drilling bill that will reduce prices at the pump by 40 - 60%

[sistatee-2009]

These numbers don''''t make sense....400 Million gals. in a 3 month period, and 12.2 Billion fewer miles in a month? If you figure 80% of autos use gas that works out to about 80 MPG.....something doesn''''t add up here.

Posted by Chimneyfish at 03:39 PM : Aug 13, 2008

A lot of people are only driving to places that are downhill from them now, so they can coast.

[starleo146]

I know the republican oil cartel Cheney, Mc Bush can''t believe we would put a stop to this oil farce, keep it up Americans make them sweat, they do not mind taking all they can get from us. I am so proud of the Americans for cutting back, it is a sacrifice, and even if it is by the high dollars of a barrel of oil,they didn''t think we would do as much as we have done thus far, knowing this country we will find a way to stick there oil where it don''t count, and we will be on some alternative fuel, and the middle east can feel like us with no money pouring in there pockets, man would that make me happy

[starleo146]

I think we should not blame, and be one for once, our people are hurting we know why, and we all have our views,so please let us stop this party stuff, and find a cure now, what happened in the past we cannot change, but now is the time to come up with a solution, we all have different ideas, and lets see where it all goes, we got to find a way to get off this poison oil once and for all. meanwhile KEEP CUTTING BACK AND LETS SHAKE THEM UP SOME MORE. Americans have always found a way and we will again as one people.

[barbaram99]

They is not driving less. Why. They must drive to and from work. To and from the stores. To and from the doctors'' office. To and from church. To and from school. Get the picure. More so if they don''t have mass transit. Car pooling. Good bye joy riding..Think before ye drive.

[slim1h2o]

A lot of people are only driving to places that are downhill from them now, so they can coast.

Posted by SistaTee at 04:13 PM : Aug 13, 2008

I know where I go from here, it''s all down hill. Figuratively speaking of course. LOL

But on a serious note, right now it''s 72 degrees, at 4:30 in the afternoon! Right now, in the south, it should be so hot that the A/C has a hard time keeping up. But if you listen to the Global Warming crowd, it''s because of Global Warming. And if it''s too hot out, it''s because of Global Warming.

I can''t wait till we get a snow storm in the south in July. And these people will be coming out of the woodwork swearing it''s because of the warming of the earth. They have lost all credibility with me.

Lets try this approach,,the axis of the earth has changed, so there fore we are experiencing climate change. Now that I can believe! But don''t tell me that one day we are sweltering in the heat, and it''s because of warming, then we get days that are well below the normal temps,,,and still say it''s because of warming,, well thats just ridicules.

[slim1h2o]

meanwhile KEEP CUTTING BACK AND LETS SHAKE THEM UP SOME MORE. Americans have always found a way and we will again as one people.

Posted by starleo14672 at 04:38 PM : Aug 13, 2008

Very wise words. Yes we will over come, well I hope so anyways. But with every passing day, I have my doubts.

[slim1h2o]

Posted by starleo14672 at 04:28 PM : Aug 13, 2008

I agree,,make''em sweat. Then jail them!

[whitemale08]

all have different ideas, and lets see where it all goes, we got to find a way to get off this poison oil once and for all. meanwhile KEEP CUTTING BACK AND LETS SHAKE THEM UP SOME MORE. Americans have always found a way and we will again as one people.


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Posted by starleo14672 at 04:38 PM : Aug 13, 2008--

It''s called "inflation" nothing else and nothing more.

When were gunho about hunting down Donald Rumsfield''s friend Saddam Hussein after he threaten Bush''s daddy then basicly you said to yourself:

"Don''t worry you frisky little fat cat''s on Wall Street, I''m going to pay for this by paying inflationary prices for my home and for food and gas because I''m like really really stupid and like I know like deficits don''t matter and stuff, because seriously Rush the best way to show that you are an American is to keep your windows rolled down on that SUV and sweat your butt off to save gas".

[slim1h2o]

Posted by whitemale08 at 05:05 PM : Aug 13, 2008

Huh????

[barbaram99]

What it is is man made. YEP the roads they never cool down. Ye stand by a road,parking lot and ye do feel the heat. Hot heat. We shall over come yep. Will it be to late. Hope not. As a people can we make a difference. Yep. It will hurt. We can do it.

[cdfoxtrot2]

I noticed a lot fewer idiots on the road, clogging the highways over the past few months and slowing everyone down while they make their cell phone calls, talk to the one kid in the back, etc. It was great while it lasted. A lot more traffic back out there, now that the price of "ge-***" has dropped. I was so hoping for $6 a gallon.

[whitemale08]

Posted by whitemale08 at 05:05 PM : Aug 13, 2008

Huh????


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Posted by slim1h2o at 05:13 PM : Aug 13, 2008--

My point was that the cost of the war in Iraq added to the defecit. And because we use fiat currency then those defecits add inflation to ga prices, food, housing and everything.

The only exception to this is by "raising taxes on the rich". But since you didn''t do that now us the "middle clas" is paying for this nonsense since you believe that Saddam still has WMD.

Therefore, NO AMOUNT OF DRILLING IS GOING TO STOP INFLATION!!!

So stop spending trillions on people who offended Bush''s dad and you will see inflationary prices come down.

Critics of the war warned you that this would blow-out the defecit and cause higher oil prices. But "Republican Suicide Bombers" did it anyways.

[randynason]

What a dumb post. It''s only about four months late and the least of our worries, at this point. Kinda like Bush saying "the economy is robust," when we''re already entering the recession.

[barbaram99]

As I write the cars drive non stop and the boys and girls are getting their arses shot at in a war zone and ye wanna drive, Let have a day where ye don''t drive unless ye must on the idea on the Amrican Day of not smoking.

[toldyouso12]

"I think people have started to take the increase in gas prices somewhat more in stride," Keefe said. The trade association is predicting only a 1.2 percent decline in all forms of business and leisure travel this year. "

What a stupid statement. Keefe acts like driving or not driving is based on the whim of the consumer instead of the financial life or death equation that it really means for many Americans. Those who can''t afford 4/gal probably can''t afford 3.60/gal either and they still won''t be driving as much. We really need to get a clue--as for her comment--it is the frog in a pot syndrome. Businesses hope we get used to the new pricing paradigm, so they can continue to stick it to us and charge us thousands for what we used to pay a few dollars for. (from food, to clothing to gas)