American Driving Survey: 2023
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Summary
This research brief presents findings from the 2023 American Driving Survey, conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, to quantify daily driving behaviors in the United States and compare them to 2021 and 2022 data. The study aims to characterize the "new normal" of travel post-pandemic and examines the relationship between vehicle age and demographic factors, noting that vehicle age is a critical component of crash risk due to the presence of advanced safety features in newer models. The methodology involved online and telephone interviews with approximately 5,100 participants from a pre-recruited panel, who reported all travel undertaken the day prior to the interview. Data were weighted to align with U.S. demographic characteristics, and trip distances or durations were imputed for 2.94% of trips with missing or erroneous values. Statistical analyses included chi-squared tests and logistic regression models to assess associations between demographic characteristics and vehicle age. National estimates were derived by projecting daily means to the total U.S. driving population. In 2023, 95.3% of U.S. residents aged 16 and older drove at least occasionally. Drivers averaged 2.43 trips, 60.7 minutes, and 29.1 miles per day. Projected nationwide, 258.2 million drivers made 229 billion trips, spending 95 billion hours and driving 2.74 trillion miles. These figures were statistically unchanged from 2022, though miles driven showed a slight, non-significant decrease. Trip-level analysis revealed that 31.1% of trips were for errands and 22.5% for commuting. SUV usage increased significantly, accounting for 30.5% of trips. Regarding vehicle age, 33.0% of trips were made in vehicles aged 5–9 years, while 27.0% were in vehicles aged 0–4 years. Newer vehicles were associated with longer trip durations and distances. The study found significant demographic disparities in vehicle age. Teenagers and individuals with lower education levels were more likely to drive vehicles older than 14 years. Logistic regression indicated that respondents with a bachelor’s degree or higher were 75% less likely to drive vehicles older than 14 years compared to those with less than a high school education. Additionally, non-working individuals and those living in the Midwest, West, and South were significantly more likely to drive older vehicles. The authors conclude that while driving volumes have stabilized, the prevalence of older vehicles—particularly among high-risk groups like teenagers and those with lower socioeconomic status—poses safety concerns, as older vehicles lack advanced safety features and are disproportionately involved in fatalities.
Key finding
In 2023, U.S. drivers averaged 2.43 trips, 60.7 minutes, and 29.1 miles per day, with teenagers and individuals with lower education levels significantly more likely to drive vehicles older than 14 years compared to their peers.
Methodology
survey
Sample size: 5003
Provenance
The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_aaa_foundation on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).
| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | aaa_foundation | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-23 |
| archive | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| chunk | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| embed | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-02 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 19 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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Information type
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- Empirical Findings: observational prevalence
- Methodological Resource: dataset resource