If Not a Love Affair With Our Cars, A Very Time-Consuming Marriage

Road-weary Americans feel as if they live in their cars. It’s not quite true, according to a new report from the Department of Transportation that analyzes travel data for 2001. “Personal vehicles” (cars, vans, SUVs, pickup trucks, etc.) covered 2.3 trillion miles that year, with adults averaging four trips per day. And while the traffic may have made all this driving seem endless, adults spent an average of 55 minutes per day in vehicles—67 minutes for men and 44 minutes for women.