It has been widely reported that Americans are driving less this year than last.
Having just completed a 5,000 mile road trip from Virginia to Florida to Texas and back to Virginia, it seems to me that Americans are driving significantly less. Interstates 95 and 75 to Tampa were dramatically less crowded compared to our previous vacation 18 months ago. Both my wife and I remarked on the lack of congestion, even near the cities. There was so little that we were able to leave the car on cruise control for most of the trip.
On the return through Texas, Arkansas, Tennesee, and Virginia along Interstates 30, 40, and 81, I did a little random sampling: big rigs outnumbered passenger vehicles about 14 to 10 on the intercity stretches. The ratio held at most of the rest stops as well, indicating that most of the long-haul traffic is business trucking. I’m not sure what ratio I was expecting, but 14:10 wasn’t it.
As we closed into the cities (or at least to the loops around the city centers), the ratio did change to something on the order of 2:1 favoring automobiles, but even that was less than I expected (my off-peak commute on I-95 to Washington DC is typically 20-30 to one).
Anecdotally then, Americans aren’t traveling for pleasure; and when they do, they stay close to home.
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