In an article by BusinessWeek, Americans are now consuming less gasoline, resulting in less vehicles on the road due to high gasoline prices. In a study conducted in Palm Beach County, Florida, for the past 20 years, workers have been counting vehicles with special sensors to monitor their activity. Nearly every year since the study started, the number of vehicles on the road has risen at least 2 percent annually. However in 2007, traffic levels noticed a decline, and so far for 2008 are down 7.5 percent. George Webb, a county engineer, stated "We're seeing a very significant change...we're having a good time speculating why".

The Federal Highway Administration also released traffic information for the 2007 year, showing a slight fall of 1.4 percent. These numbers come after an 8 percent drop in automotive sales for the first quarter of 2008, with large scale SUV's and pickup trucks dropping 27 and 14 percent. Paul Weissgarber of A.T. Kearney, a consulting firm, noted "It appears we've finally hit the ceiling that's causing the U.S. population to rethink how and where they use their vehicles". Even with the slight decrease in fuel consumption, the United States "still consumes one-third of the world's annual gasoline output".

Source: BusinessWeek