Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Federal Highway Administration

Talking Headways Short: The Real News About America’s Driving Habits

Consider this a bonus track. A deleted scene at the end of your DVD. Extra footage.

Or, consider it what it is: A short podcast episode Jeff and I recorded two and a half weeks ago that never got edited because I went to Pro-Walk Pro-Bike and he went to Rail~Volution and we recorded (and actually posted) a podcast in between and basically, life got in the way.

But better late than never, right? Here is a Talking Headways short in which we discuss the Federal Highway Administration's recent (er, not so recent anymore) announcement that Americans are driving more than any time since 2008 and so we'd better spend lots more on highways. Here are two quick visuals to help you understand just one reason we thought their reasoning was flawed:

Despite the rhetoric, FHWA's own charts show that driving is hardly bouncing back to peak levels. Image: ##http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/travel_monitoring/14juntvt/figure1.cfm##FHWA##
Despite the rhetoric, FHWA's own charts show that driving is hardly bouncing back to peak levels. Image: ##http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/travel_monitoring/14juntvt/figure1.cfm##FHWA##
Despite the rhetoric, FHWA's own charts show that driving is hardly bouncing back to peak levels. Image: ##http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/travel_monitoring/14juntvt/figure1.cfm##FHWA##
fred
Even more dramatic: Check out how much per capita vehicle miles traveled has dropped. Image: ##http://research.stlouisfed.org/##St. Louis Fed##

You'll have to listen to the podcast to hear the rest. It's a short one; you can listen to the whole thing while you fold the laundry. And there's something extra-adorable in there as a special prize for putting up with our tardiness.

Jeff will be back soon from Rail~volution and then we'll get to hear all about that, and then we'll be back to normal podcasts on, we hope, a more normal schedule.

You'll be the first to know when that happens if you subscribe to Talking Headways on our RSS feedStitcher or iTunes.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Monday’s Headlines Took the Keys Away

A demographic disaster is coming as a generation of aging suburbanites become either dangerous drivers or trapped in their homes.

March 2, 2026

Why Anti-Trans Laws Are Terrible For Transportation, Too

A disturbing new Kansas law revokes trans people's driver's licenses. Here's how it will make our communities more dangerous.

March 2, 2026

Sunbelt Cities Rank Last in National Street Safety Index

Cars and drivers continue to dominate the newest and sunniest cities in the United States.

March 2, 2026

Americans Demand Congress Fund Active Transportation In Next Infrastructure Bill — And Not Just The Bike/Walk Advocates

A "back to basics" surface transportation bill — as Republicans are seeking — would be devastating for road safety and small businesses.

February 27, 2026

Friday’s Headlines Take a Lot to Laugh, Take a Train to Cry

I ride on a mail train, baby. Can't buy a thrill.

February 27, 2026

Talking Headways Podcast: The Future of Transit

Yonah Freemark talks with Jeff Wood about the state of the trains across the world.

February 26, 2026
See all posts