Drivers 30 to 49 years of age drive the most

WILMINGTON — American drivers spend an average of more than 17,600 minutes behind the wheel each year, according to a new survey from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

The research found drivers traveled nearly 10,900 miles on average, and they spent more than 290 hours on the road.

“That is equivalent to seven 40-hour weeks at the office,” said Ken Grant of AAA Mid-Atlantic. “It’s clear that traveling by car remains a central part of Americans’ lives.”

The survey showed Americans drove a total of 2.45 trillion miles last year, a 2.4 percent increase from 2014. It also showed:

•    On average, men report driving 2,314 more miles than women per year and spend 18 percent more time behind the wheel.
•    More than 86 percent of U.S. households have at least one car for every driver in the home, and 28 percent report having more cars than drivers.
•    Those over the age of 75 drive fewer miles than teenagers – 5,840 miles for older drivers and 7,551 for teens.
•    Drivers ages 30-49 drive an average of 13,506 miles annually, more than any other age group.
•    Drivers who report living in rural areas drive more miles than drivers who live in cities or towns.
•    More than 50 percent of miles driven by Americans are done in cars, followed by SUVs (20 percent), pickup trucks (17 percent) and vans (7.9 percent). Men report doing a much greater share of their driving in pickup trucks compared to women, who report doing most of their driving in cars and SUVs.
•    Over 66 percent of total driving trips and nearly 62 percent of total miles are driven solo. Women are 24 percent more likely than men to have a passenger in the vehicle on any given trip.
•    On average, Americans drive the most during the fall – 31.5 miles daily – and least during the winter – 26.2 miles daily.