High Mileage

If you think you’re spending more time in your car, you’re right. All Americans are spending more time driving, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s latest American Driving Survey — an additional 20 minutes per week on average, an eight percent increase from five years ago.

The most recent survey examined data from 2014-2017, the latest available. The amount of time driving per day increased, with U.S. drivers spending nearly an hour (51 minutes) behind the wheel. The average number of daily miles driven was 31.5, more than a 5 percent increase since 2014.

In total, Americans drive 71 billion miles each year. Each week, drivers travel more than 220 miles, averaging out to 11,498 miles for all Americans each year. That’s the equivalent of making two round-trip drives from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.

There are several factors contributing to the increases, including higher vehicle ownership, lower gas prices and aging highway infrastructure, which can contribute to more traffic delays.

One negative implication of more time behind the wheel is that it can equate to greater chances of a crash. “The more time drivers spend behind the wheel, the greater their exposure to risks on the roadway” said Dr. David Yang, executive director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “Longer time behind the wheel could lead to issues such as fatigue, distraction, and impatience for drivers, which are all contributing factors for vehicle crashes. Drivers need to stay alert and focused on the key task at hand, driving. This can save your life and the lives of your passengers and people with whom you share the road.”

The AAA Foundation conducts the American Driving Survey to better understand driving habits, and subsequently, exposure to traffic risks.

AAA recommends that drivers on longer trips take breaks every two hours or 100 miles. And it’s important for drivers to avoid distractions such as cellphones no matter how much time they spend behind the wheel.

Other findings from the American Driving Survey:

• Men drive 27 percent more miles than women.
• People who are married or living with a partner spend at least 12 percent more time driving than those who are not.
• Drivers age 75 or older are spending, on average, 34.8 minutes a day driving — a 23 percent increase from 2014-2015.
• Drivers in the West spend the most time driving (58.9 minutes per day), followed by drivers in the Northeast (51.1 minutes), South (49.9 minutes) and Midwest (44.5 minutes).
• The number of Midwestern people who reported driving has dropped 3 percent, while the number of drivers in the Northeast, South and West increased or remained the same.

The new results are part of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s American Driving Survey, which reveals the driving habits of the American public. The survey data are from a representative sample of 11,804 drivers who provided information about their driving on randomly selected days between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2017.