American Driving Survey

American drivers add 29.2 miles a day to their odometer—an average of 10,658 miles a year. They make two trips a day, on average, and spend 46 minutes behind the wheel. These numbers vary by demographic characteristic, according to the American Driving Survey. Sponsored by AAA and developed in partnership with the Urban Institute, the survey examines the demographics of driving.

• Women make more daily trips than men (2.2 versus 1.9), but men spend more time behind the wheel (51 minutes for men versus 41 minutes for women) and travel greater distances (34 versus 25 miles).
• Those who spend the most time driving are 30-to-49-year-olds. This age group makes 2.3 trips a day, drives 36 miles, and spends 54 minutes on the road.
• Americans who live in cities or medium-sized towns average 2.0 trips per day, not much different than the 2.1 trips per day for those who live in the countryside or small towns. But rural and small town residents drive longer distances (34 miles per day) than those who live in cities and medium-sized towns (27 miles). Those miles add up over a year, with rural folks putting an average of 12,264 miles on their odometer each year versus 9,709 for their urban counterparts. 
• On an average day, most drivers drive. Only 32 percent of American drivers did not drive on the survey's reporting day. 

The American Driving Survey examines in more detail the driving habits of teenagers aged 16 to 19 and people aged 75 or older. Not surprisingly, the percentage of teens who drive almost every day rises with age, from 25.7 percent among 16-year-olds to 50.5 percent among 19-year-olds. Among people aged 75 or older, 46 percent drive almost every day and 30 percent say they never drive.

Source: The Urban Institute and AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, American Driving Survey: Methodology and Year 1 Results, May 2013-May 2014