U.S. motor vehicle travel in October up by 7.1% over 2020
Reuters
Published Dec 20, 2021 10:37AM ET
Updated Dec 20, 2021 01:45PM ET
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. motorists drove 7.1% more miles in October over the same month last year as people returned to offices and resumed leisure trips, but the distance was off slightly from pre-pandemic levels and traffic deaths jumped dramatically.
The Federal Highway Administration said on Monday that motorists drove 277.5 billion miles in October, up 18.5 billion miles from October 2020, but still down 5.6 billion miles from October 2019. For the first 10 months of 2021, road travel is up 11.2%, or 262.5 billion miles, over last year.
The numbers remain down in part because millions of workers are working primarily from home.
Travel was up 0.5% over September levels. Travel on rural roads now exceeds pre-pandemic levels, while travel on urban roads still lags 2019 levels.
In the 12 months ending in October, the United States logged 3.09 trillion miles driven, which is at roughly the same rate as in 2015 - and about 168 billion fewer miles than the 12-months ending in October 2019.
The percentage increase in traffic deaths has exceeded the rise in driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in October that road deaths rose 18.4% in the first six months of 2021 from the same period a year earlier, for the deadliest first half on American roads since 2006.
Traffic deaths surged after coronavirus lockdowns ended in 2020 as more drivers engaged in unsafe behavior like speeding and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, regulators said. That made for the largest six-month increase ever recorded in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System's history, which has been in use since 1975.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in October that his department would release a strategy in January with a comprehensive set of actions to reduce serious traffic injuries and deaths.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.