Technology Slice Blog

Drove 3 Trillion Miles 2010 - Americans logged more miles in their cars last year than in any year since 2007, bouncing back from a steep decline in driving spurred by the recession and the 2008 run-up in gasoline prices. Americans drove three trillion miles in 2010, the third-highest total on record and an increase of 0.7% from the previous year, the U.S. Transportation Department reported Wednesday. The data marked the second straight year of increased driving and confirmed a reversal from 2008, when gasoline peaked above $4 a gallon and driving plunged 3.6% after two decades of increases. The extra time behind the wheel was a further sign of a recovering economy. But the data also underscored the nation's continued reliance on oil, a growing concern as turmoil in the Middle East threatens to further drive up gasoline prices and slow, or even reverse, the economic recovery. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, speaking at a U.S. Senate Budget Committee hearing, said he wasn...