Thanks once again to soaring fuel prices and other economic strains have led people to cut back sharply on driving, which is changing where they go and how they get there and jeopardizing the federal fund for highway construction and repairs.
Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than in May 2007, according to federal data released Monday. The 3.7 percent decline was the third-largest monthly drop in the 66 years the Department of Transportation has been collecting the data.
The May decline also is the seventh monthly drop in a row. Since November 2007, Americans have driven 40.5 billion fewer miles compared to the same period a year earlier. They're cutting the number of car trips they take, and they're walking, taking carpools and, sometimes, simply staying home instead.
The highway trust fund gets 18.4 cents per gallon from petrol sales and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel sales.
Via MSNBC > As Americans drive less, highway funds drop
Related link: