U.S. drivers reach record mileage through April

Updated Jul 3, 2015
(Photo Credit: VCU CNS / Flickr)(Photo Credit: VCU CNS / Flickr)

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates U.S. motorists traveled 987.8 billion miles January through April this year, breaking a record from 2007. Motorists drove 3.07 trillion miles during the 12 months prior to that.

FHWA released these figures as part of its Traffic Volume Trends report released each month. The report collects data from 4,800 “continuous count stations” across the country.

The vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) for April this year was the most since FHWA began its estimates, at 267.9 billion miles. The month also marks the 14 consecutive month of VMT increases.

Indiana had the highest increase comparing April this year to 2014, with a jump of 14.8 percent. Hawaii was next at 8.1 percent, followed by North Dakota at 7.4 percent. Washington, D.C., actually had a decrease in VMT of 0.3 percent, the only region with a decrease in the country.

FHWA’s western region, which includes 13 states, recorded 60.9 billion VMT for the most-traveled region. The nine states in the northeast region registered 37 billion VMT.