Drivers still leaving cars in park

0 Comments | USA TODAY, August, 2008 | by Larry Copeland

High gas prices prompted Americans to drive fewer miles for the eighth consecutive month, the government reported Wednesday.

Drivers logged 12.2 billion fewer miles in June compared with June 2007, a 4.7% decline, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Gasoline prices rose steadily during much of the decline, from a national average of $2.91 for a gallon of regular unleaded on Nov. 1 to a peak of $4.11 on July 17.

Some analysts, including David Ellis, a research scientist at the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University, Troy Green of auto club AAA and author Alan Pisarski, attribute the mileage decline to high gasoline prices and a slow economy. They disagree over when miles traveled might rebound.

"People are...