Anyone who thought that the petrol price hikes of 2008, which prompted many US motorists to reduce the number of miles they drive, would have a permanent impact on driving habits will have to re-evaluate.

Preliminary reports from the State Highway Agencies show that total vehicle miles travelled on all roads and streets in the US increased by 2.5 per cent (5.8billion vehicle miles) for September 2009 compared to the previous year.

The results, featured in the Traffic Volume Trends report from US Federal Highway Administration, show that total vehicle miles travelled for the month is estimated at 240.7billion miles – this total includes 83.9billion vehicle miles on rural roads and 156.8billion vehicle miles on urban roads and streets.

The Traffic Volume Trends report is issued monthly and is based on hourly traffic count data. This is collected at approximately 4,000 continuous traffic counting locations across the USA and is used to determine the percentage change in traffic for the month compared to the same month in the previous year.

Meanwhile, cumulative travel for the year has changed by +0.3 per cent to 6.7billion vehicle miles. The estimate for the year in total is 2,208.5billion vehicle miles travelled.