The number of miles traveled by U.S. drivers dropped by more than 13 percent last year – the first decrease in six years.
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) new year-end estimates reveal total miles fell from 3.3 trillion VMT in 2019 to 2.83 trillion in 2020.
This decrease equates to an estimated reduction of nearly 170 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
The latest VMT data, published in FHWA’s December 2020 ‘Traffic Volume Trends’ report – a monthly estimate of US road travel – shows that, combined, all miles driven on public roads and highways in 2020 was the lowest since 2002.
Despite a significant reduction in overall traffic volume, preliminary data from the USDOT shows that roadway fatalities fell only slightly – by an estimated two percent for the first six months of the year.
The latest FHWA’s ‘Traffic Volume Trend’ data can be viewed online.
