more americans agree: four wheels bad.

Nate Silver wrote a really interesting article about united states car use. he looked at some data and it looks like american love for cars might be lessening.

people are driving less, and it might not just be because of higher gas prices.

either way, it seems now is a good time to promote bicycle use, and presure city planners to create smart growth rather than sprawl and public transportation. it seems like the public is going to be more receptive than they have been in the past.

some neat facts from the article

-In January, according to statistics compiled by the Federal Highway Administration, Americans drove a collective 222 billion miles

-January 2009 was the fifteenth consecutive month in which the average American drove less than he had a year earlier.

-a doubling of gas prices reduces miles traveled by only a small fraction

-The cost of gas twelve months ago...has historically been a much better predictor of driving behavior than the cost of gas today