High gasoline prices not only slowed fuel demand growth and cut sales of gas-guzzling vehicles in 2005, they also prompted Americans to drive less for the first time in 25 years, a consulting group said in a report Thursday.
The drop in driving was small - the average American drove 13,657 miles (21,978.8 km) per year in 2005, down from 13,711 miles in 2004 - but it is more evidence that the market works and prices help control consumption, Boston-based Cambridge Energy Research Associates said. . . .
Miles driven per motorist was down partly because there are more elderly people driving, and they tend to drive less, the report said. Between 1980 and 2004, drivers under age 21 dropped from 18.8 million to 15.8 million and those over 65 almost doubled, from 15.4 million to nearly 29 million, CERA said. . . .
Sales of vehicles with lower gas mileage "have begun to slump, with monthly, seasonally adjusted sales reportedly declining nine of the 12 months ending September 2006," CERA said. "Weakness is most pronounced for the heavier class of SUVs."
Although America’s dependence on foreign oil likely will not be solved in the next few years — or decades for that matter — America’s attitude is changing.
Despite an increase in population, more people are choosing alternate forms of transportation — mass public transit, walking, bike riding and others.
