Six years after the start of the Great Recession, the total number of vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) is still 2.27% below the pre-recession high. Moreover, per capita VMTs are down a whopping 7.82% since peaking in June 2005. In the last recession, VMTs did not decline while in the 1990 recession they recovered in just six months. In the double-dip recession of the early eighties VMTs recovered in 40 months.