A recent press release from
the Federal Highway Administration (under the auspices of the United
States Department of Transportation) tracking motor vehicle patterns
concluded that people were driving less in January 2009. According to
the release, "travel on all roads and streets changed by -3.1 percent,"
which corresponded to seven billion fewer miles of vehicle travel than
in January 2008. And still, we all sat in traffic...
Speculators believe the
change to be a response to elevated gas prices and harsh economic conditions
that warranted thriftiness and calling friends for rides they didn't
want to give you.
On the upside,
seven billion miles-worth of sulfur, dioxide carbon monoxide, nitrogen
oxide and the newly minted king of hated chemical byproducts-
carbon dioxide - were kept out of the air in January.
Drivers in the North Central and North East regions showed the greatest
decrease in driving adventures, decreasing by 6 percent and 5.7 percent,
respectively.
Meanwhile,
the West, where public transit options are more limited and distances
between places greater than back East,
saw a slight increase in driving by 0.2 percent. In fact,
46.4 billion miles were traveled in the West, compared to 32.5 billion
miles in the North East. Drivers in the North Central region drove 48.4
billion miles, down by six percent, but
still traveling more miles than the freeway-loving Western dwellers.
So what can we learn from all
of this? It seems the quickest way to stop global warming and acid rain
is to let the country slip into a deep recession and ask OPEC to jack
up oil prices. What would we do without such wonderful
federal statistics?
Also Interesting:
Get our Newsletter!
Click here to sign up and stay informed
