It's not your imagination. Traffic in the US is actually getting worse. (3) Americans drove more miles last year than any other year on record. The US Department of Transportation says Americans drove nearly 3,150 billion miles last year. That's about the same distance as 337 round trips from Earth to Pluto. The previous record was 3,003 billion miles in 2007, before the economic recession and high gas prices. The traffic increase comes at the same time as gas prices drop significantly. The current average gas price in the US is $1.71 per gallon. A year ago it was $2.31 per gallon and was often much higher in recent years. (4) A transportation expert told the reporter that job growth likely plays a part as well, along with some people driving longer distances to and from work. And so all this means more traffic jams on the road. The Texas A&M Travel Institute found that rush-hour travellers spent an extra 42 hours on the road last year because of travel delays. Now, that is depressing.