Americans Drove 221.1 Billion Miles in February

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) said Americans drove 221.1 billion miles in February, a 2.8 percent increase from a year earlier and part of a rising demand pattern that underscores the need for greater investment in transportation infrastructure. The new numbers come as Congress is trying to decide whether to push to pass a long-term or short-term reauthorization of the Highway Trust Fund before its highway and transit program authority expires May 31. The FHWA said the February increase in vehicle miles traveled, on top of a bigger year-over-year gain in January, means drivers logged 3.9 percent more miles in the first two months of 2015 than a year earlier.  That was also the heaviest February driving volume since the record high in 2004, the agency said, and marked the 12^th consecutive month of VMT growth. The figures, which include passenger vehicle, bus and truck travel, are based on vehicle information collected from more than 4,800 continuous-count stations nationwide.