In 2017, per-capita car ownership in the United States (about 800 vehicles per one thousand inhabitants) was only moderately higher than in Western Europe (about 600 vehicles per one thousand inhabitants) or Canada (about 655). But Americans drove twice as many miles each year as people in peer European countries. This is not because our country is so large—we also drove 60 percent more than Australians and Canadians. It was at least partly because we built a country with exceptional rewards for driving and punishments for getting around any other way.
