This paper uses data from the 2001 National Personal Travel Survey, a survey that is conducted periodically by the U.S. Department of Transportation, to highlight important patterns of travel and vehicle use in American households. Findings indicate that the number of household vehicles has nearly doubled over the last 25 years. There has been a significant increase in the number and percentage of households with more vehicles than drivers. As the number of vehicles per household has grown, so has the averagevehicle miles traveled per household. Americans are keeping their cars longer, which means the vehicle fleet is aging. Older drivers are more likely to be driving older (and thus less safety-equipped) cars than younger age groups, and also are at greater risk of being involved in a fatal accident per mile driven. These findings can be used by transportation planners and policymakers to better understand trends in travel behavior in order to provide efficient, equitable and safe transportation.
Abstract