Detroit News

MEMA Industry News Editor's Note: The Federal Highway Administration (FHA) Office of Highway Policy Information (OHPI) has released miles driven information for December 2011. To view the full report, click here.

WASHINGTON -- Americans hit the brakes on travel in 2011, as travel on U.S. roads fell to its lowest level since 2003, government data shows.

Last year, U.S. drivers logged 35.7 billion fewer miles over 2010 -- down 1.2 percent -- to 2.963 trillion miles, the Federal Highway Administration reported.

That's the fewest number of miles since Americans drove 2.890 trillion miles in 2003.

Stubbornly, high gas prices and an economic slowdown since 2008 have convinced some Americans not to drive as much.

The U.S. Energy Information Agency says U.S. gasoline prices are averaging $3.52 a gallon -- up $0.38 over a year ago.

But U.S. drivers in December drove 1.3 percent more miles over December 2010 -- up 3.2 billion miles -- and the first increase after nine straight monthly declines in 2011. That increase could also be attributed in part to milder weather.

In Michigan, driving was up 2.1 percent in December to 8.04 billion miles traveled.

Travel on rural roads fell faster than urban roads in 2011 -- down 1.6 percent on rural and 1 percent on urban roads -- but urban driving accounts for two-thirds of all driving.

Overall, driving fell faster in the second half of 2011, down 1.4 percent, versus a 1 percent decline in the first half.

The U.S. surpassed the 2 trillion miles traveled in a single year mark in 1988 and 3 trillion in 2006.

The federal report is based on continuous hourly traffic count data at 4,000 traffic counting locations nationwide.

As drivers log fewer miles, some are opting not to buy new cars.

Americans are holding onto their vehicles longer.

The average length of ownership of vehicles that were purchased new has risen to a record 71.4 months, or nearly six years, said automotive research firm Polk on Tuesday.

For consumers who purchased used vehicles, the average length of ownership is nearly 49.9 months. Combined, new and used vehicle owners are holding on to vehicles for an average of 57 months.

For new and used owners, the length of vehicle ownership among U.S. consumers has increased 23 percent since the third quarter of 2008, coinciding with the economic downturn.

Overall, the average of all vehicles on the roads stands at 10.8 years -- the highest ever recorded.

By contrast, the average age of the fleet was just 8.4 years in 1996.