U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Vehicle Technologies Office

Fact #473: June 11, 2007
Vehicle-Miles per Licensed Driver

The number of highway vehicle miles of travel (VMT) in the U.S. has been increasing at a faster rate than the number of licensed drivers, evidenced by the increase each year in VMT per licensed driver.From 2004 to 2005, however, VMT per licensed driver was nearly constant.

VMT per Licensed Driver
Graph showing the number of vehicle miles traveled in the U.S. which have been increasing at a faster rate than the number of drivers. For more detailed information, see the table below.

Supporting Information

Vehicle-Miles per Licensed Driver, 1980-2005
Year VMT per Licensed Driver Increase from Previous Year (Miles)
1980 10,512  
1981 10,575 63
1982 10,617 42
1983 10,705 89
1984 11,068 363
1985 11,314 246
1986 11,505 191
1987 11,861 356
1988 12,440 579
1989 12,663 223
1990 12,839 176
1991 12,853 13
1992 12,980 127
1993 13,262 283
1994 13,441 179
1995 13,716 275
1996 13,846 129
1997 14,021 175
1998 14,226 205
1999 14,378 152
2000 14,410 32
2001 14,624 214
2002 14,697 72
2003 14,735 38
2004 14,907 172
2005 14,908 1

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics.

 

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