U.S. drivers surpass 2.4 trillion miles for first 9 months of 2016

Updated Dec 9, 2016

Traffic on highwayThe latest Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) data shows vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the U.S. passed 2.4 trillion miles through September this year and is 3 percent higher than the same period last year.

The moving 12-month total reached 3.2 trillion miles, according FHWA’s most recent Traffic Volume Trends report.

In September alone the VMT was 265.5 billion miles, an increase of 2.9 percent compared to the same month in 2015. Of that total, 182.9 million miles were on urban roads and streets, while 82.6 billion miles were on rural roads.

The West region, comprised of 13 states, saw the biggest increase for the month, up 5.5 percent to 58.3 billion miles. This was followed by the 8-state South Atlantic region, with a 3.3 percent increase to 55.2 billion miles, and the 8-state South Gulf region with 52.3 billion miles and a 2 percent increase.

FHWA reported back in August that VMT for the first half of the year broke a record for that period, reaching 1.58 trillion miles.

The Traffic Volume Trends report compiles data collected from roughly 4,000 continuous traffic counting locations across the country. The current monthly Traffic Volume Report and figures from previous years are available here.