The federal government is reporting that New Mexicans significantly changed their driving habits in June, the last month for which numbers are available.

Albuquerque Journal Science Writer John Fleck noted the report by the Department of Transportation. The monthly report showed New Mexicans drove 5.1 percent less in June 2008 than they did a year before.

New Mexicans drove 1.872 billion miles in June 2008, compared to 1.973 billion in June 2007. This equated to a 5.1-percent drop in overall miles driven by New Mexicans. This was above the nationwide drop of 4.7 percent in miles driven.

Rural drivers in New Mexico were affected more than their urban counterparts. Drivers on "rural arterial roads" drove an astounding 6.7 percent less in New Mexico. Gas prices are usually higher than those in urban areas. On "urban arterial roads" New Mexicans’ driving habits changed only 3.7 percent.

The numbers nationwide were similar. Urban drivers drove 4.2 percent less in June of this year compared to 2007. Rural drivers, on the other hand, drove 6.2 percent less.

 Surrounding states were a mixed bag. In Colorado the driving drop was only 3.9 percent; in Arizona, 5.7 percent; and in Texas, 4.2 percent.

Nationwide the only area that posted a net gain in miles driven was Washington, D.C., with a 1.2-percent increase. The biggest drop came in Maine, where drivers drove 7 percent less miles in June than the same month last year.

The gas prices peaked in July and have gone down throughout August. So does that mean drivers will be going back to driving more? Fleck notes a post at the Econbrowser blog:

Although the price of gasoline today is less than it was a few weeks ago, it’s still much higher than it had been at the time you purchased your last car. As consumers replace older models, they’re invariably going to continue to substitute into more fuel-efficient vehicles even if oil prices continue to decline. In addition, there was a mentality in 2005 that what looked like high gasoline prices at the time ($3 a gallon) were only temporary. I expect an opposite perception could have set in today– even if gasoline prices go lower for a few months, consumers know they could go back up and nobody wants to be permanently stuck owing the big gasoline bills they remember from this summer.

When the July numbers are released in September, it will be interesting to see if they continued to drop.