3 States With The Most Driving Habits
Did you know that last year, Americans drove 2.95 trillion miles on U.S. roads according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration? It's difficult to see the significance of this number, so let's look at some familiar facts. 238,900 mi is the distance between the Earth and the moon. The distance between the Earth and the sun is 92.960,000 miles.
What do these numbers mean?
Even if you drove from the Earth to its sun 900 times, it would still not be as far as the U.S. drivers in a single year. Although we may all believe we drive a lot, when you add up how many miles we travel each year, it is staggering. We don't even consider the miles that people drive in other countries every year - there are many countries!
These statistics make it easy to understand why so many people support green vehicles and green technology. It can also be quite disheartening to see the map of areas where people are most susceptible to die from air pollution.
These statistics are even more impressive when you consider that the number of miles traveled by Americans last year was the eighth highest. This means that we have seven years in which we drove more than 2.95 billion miles in a single year. It makes you want to use public transport or carpooling more often.
What does it look like at the state level?
Which states have the busiest roads? And how many miles are they driving? Let's take an in-depth look at these states:
- California – 84.7 billion miles. Although California is the third-largest state, it still ranks high on the list for having the most highways/roads. Californians would probably agree with this, as they are often the ones driving on jammed highways. According to the Federal Highway Administration, I-5 in California was actually the busiest highway in America, with 21.4 billion miles travelled.
It's not surprising that I-10 in California and I-110 were the busiest highways. We'd bet they aren't the best places to be during rush hour.
- Texas – 55.7 billion miles- Texas is a large state, making it the second-busiest state. It is, however, nearly 30 billion miles less than California. If given the option, we would probably prefer to drive to Texas. California may have a better view, but it is more scenic.
- Florida 3.47 billion miles Florida is the 22nd largest US state, so it's not surprising that it's at the top. Could it be the many vacationers who drive around Florida all year? Perhaps it's because Florida is the "retiree state" and has twice the number of residents in winter than summer. Remember the snowbirds. Although we don't know why so many Florida residents drive, the fact is that they do.
The rest of this list is as follows:
- Ohio - 31.4 billion miles
- Illinois - 31.033 billion miles
- Georgia - 28.467 trillion miles
- Virginia - 24.062 trillion miles
- Pennsylvania - 23.662 trillion miles
- North Carolina - 21.241 trillion miles
- Michigan - 20.707 trillion miles
Although it may not seem like a lot considering the number of Americans (311,591,917); when you consider that we travel nearly 1,000 times the distance between Earth and the sun in a single year, it is quite impressive.
You might consider shipping your car instead of driving your car next time you need to move your car around the country. Shipping your car can help you save time and money, as well as save the planet from smog.