By Ryan Dezember
It takes a lot to get Americans to drive less: a deadly global pandemic that parked cars, a housing bust that pushed the financial system to the brink of collapse. Prices at the pump did it in May.
Americans drove about 2 billion fewer miles that month than they did a year earlier, a rare year-over-year drop in driving that occurred as fuel prices climbed to a wartime peak, according to Federal Highway Administration data.
Vehicle miles traveled, which counts traffic on all U.S. roads and streets, declined by 0.7% in May to the lowest level for that month in two years.
Year-to-date and rolling 12-month mileage tallies remain at record highs despite May's drop. Yet the decline shows a strong sensitivity to fuel prices among Americans, who are contending with resurgent inflation.
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