Owning and operating a car is getting more and more expensive as the oil price rises. The Russian invasion of Ukraine – and a resultant ban on Russian oil – will probably make things worse. However, the U.S.’s largely ineffective public transport means Americans have little choice but to use their cars. In the majority of the U.S., Americans need their vehicles to work, shop, study and survive.

It is a reliance that dates back decades.

“In the U.S., we really saw an increase in automobile use in the post-world war two period, the baby boom generation. At that point in time, we had this new availability of relatively inexpensive mass-produced automobiles, this is the first time that people from middle income households can purchase a motor vehicle,” said Gregory Rowangould, the director of the Transportation Research Center at the University of Vermont and an associate professor in civil and environmental engineering.

In 2019, American motorists drove an average of 14,263 miles a year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. That puts the U.S. at the top of the list in terms of miles driven, and it is not even close. In the next highest country, Canada, people drove an average of 9,562 miles a year in 2018. The average car in the UK was driven for 7,134 miles in 2019.