Americans drove about 2.88 trillion miles by the end of November 2015, according to data from the Federal Highway Administration. The figure signals the strong possibility that last year likely will be the most traveled year in the country’s history. The current record, set in 2014, is 3.02 trillion miles.
The seasonally adjusted vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for November was 264 billion miles, a 3.4% increase when compared with November 2014. That also is a .1% increase compared with seasonally adjusted October 2015 figures, which include truck, bus and passenger vehicle.
“That's not one more good reason to get #BeyondTraffic; that's 2.88 trillion good reasons,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx wrote on Facebook on Jan. 22. The secretary was referring to the agency’s “Beyond Traffic” report which noted the growing roadway congestion expected over the next three decades.
In a separate statement, DOT said the figures “represent a significant challenge to our capacity. That means traffic congestion. Which means lost time, lost money and increased greenhouse-gas emissions.”
At 8.9%, the report found Hawaii to have the largest unadjusted single-state traffic percent increase over last year, followed by Idaho at 7.7% and Florida at 7%. Washington, D.C., saw the largest unadjusted traffic decrease for the month at 3.9%.
