Number of the Day: 1,188.5 Billion

254.7 billion -- That's the number of miles traveled on all roads and streets in the US. That's a very high number, but it's the biggest drop for the month of May in the past 66 years since the statistics are compiled.

9.6 billion -- US citizens drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than in May 2007, or 3.7% less. Yet May usually means an increase in traffic because of Memorial Day vacations and the beginning of summer.

1,188.5 billion -- This is the cumulative number of 'vehicle miles traveled' so far in 2008. Compared to the same months last year, that's a drop of 2.4%. That might seem like a small drop, but if you look at the graph on the left, you'll see that the number of miles traveled usually goes up. This year it didn't just stop growing, it actually went down. This shows that fuel costs do have a big impact and that fossil fuel consumption isn't as 'inelastic' as some thought. Source: GCC

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