Georgia, U.S. driving fell as gas spiked

Has the painful memory of $4 gas changed America? Is driving less now in our blood?

It’s too early to tell. But historic new federal data raise eyebrows.

Even though gas prices started to slide in August, Americans still drove less than they did a year before. A lot less.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, “This represents the largest single-month decline … in the history such data have been collected.” A spokesman, Doug Hecox, said the agency couldn’t say Friday whether August was also a record-breaking driving decline for Georgia, but that it was “certainly among the steepest drops in Georgia history.”

As gas prices approached and topped $4 over the last year, Americans —- Southerners too —- spent less and less time behind the wheel.

For the first time in decades, according to federal data, traditional steep increases in the distances driven gave way to a significant drop.

Between November 2007 and August 2008, Americans drove 78.1 billion miles less than they did during the same 10 months a year before, according to FHWA.

At the same time, mass transit agencies and carpool registries reported waves of new riders. In metro Atlanta, buses and trains have been bursting at the seams.

Now, gas prices have started to fall. In July, the average price of regular unleaded in Georgia was $4.01 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association. In August, it was $3.69.

According to the federal data just released, drivers didn’t flock back to their cars, at least not by end of summer. Nationwide, miles driven in August 2008 were 5.8 percent less than in August 2007.

In Georgia, it was 7.5 percent less. The Southeast had the biggest August drops; the biggest for a state was in Florida, at 13.2 percent less.

Caution is in order: the data are the latest available, but they’re a month and a half old. In the meantime, a host of other factors have been at work, experts say.

First there’s the lousy economy, said Tim Lomax, research engineer at the Texas Transportation Institute.

Also, August is a vacation month, he said, meaning people can more easily decide to drive less by planning a shorter vacation; and maybe those plans were made in midsummer, when gas prices were higher.

But, Lomax added, “I think some of this is perhaps a change in behavior.” At least, he said, “it hasn’t necessarily snapped back by this time.”

 CHARLES W. JONES / Staff
DRIVING LESS 
The average gas price in Georgia for the month in 2008, and the trend in driving for the month for 2008 over the same month in 2007: 

Avg. gas price 

......gallon of 
......regular ....Monthly
......unleaded....driving 
June..$3.99 ......[down] 6.7%
July..$4.01 ......[down] 5.2%
Aug...$3.69 ......[down] 7.4% 
Sept. $3.85 ......Not available

Sources: AAA, FHWA