Driving update for July 2016: one year of Pearl

Sunday was the first anniversary of buying Pearl the Prius.  Yesterday, Pearl turned over 28,000 miles.  Time for a double celebration!

Pearl's odometer last turned over on June 3, 2016, 54 days ago.  That translates to 18.52 miles per day or 564.8 miles per standard month.  While that less than the 19.61 miles/day and 598.0 miles/month I drove Pearl between April and June, I'm not sure it qualifies as a "return to my usual decreased driving for the rest of the summer."  I blame two trips to the other side of the county, one for the Clawson 4th of July Parade and another even longer one about my teeth, which is a follow-up to the problem I mentioned in Teeth and jaws of our inner fish.

Now for the annual report.  Pearl had 21,577 miles when I bought her on July 24, 2015.  Subtracting that from 28,000 miles gives 6423 miles over 369 days.  That translates to 17.41 miles per day, 530.9 miles per standard month, and 6370.8 miles per leap year (6353.4 miles per standard year).  I suspect my driving a hybrid is giving me permission to drive a little more, as I'm consuming less per mile.  That, and the cheap gas prices.

While my driving actually decreased last month, my overall higher mileage this past year puts me in good company, as the U.S. Department of Transportation as quoted by Doug Short reported.

"Travel on all roads and streets changed by 2.0% (5.5 billion vehicle miles) for May 2016 as compared with May 2015." The less volatile 12-month moving average was up 0.17% month-over-month and 3.1% year-over-year. If we factor in population growth, the 12-month MA of the civilian population-adjusted data (age 16-and-over) is up 0.10% month-over-month and up 2.3% year-over-year.

Here's the graph, which I showed to my students this week.


As for my future driving habits, I'll be off work for much of August.  In fact, I'm giving my first final exam today.  May I relax as I work and drive less!