The erstwhile Scott Shaffer breaks down four ways of looking at vehicle miles travelled (VMT) data on his Tumblr — total, per capita, per vehicle, and per driver. Compare the results:

For some reason he starts talking about Monica and Russ:

VMT per capita in Minnesota has been steady or dropping since about 2004. Quick rundown of other things that happened in 2004:

• Beyonce’s original group Destiny’s Child released their fourth studio album, Destiny Fulfilled.
• NBC aired the tenth and final season of the white sitcom Friends, which included the Danny DeVito vehicle “The One Where the Stripper Cries.”
• Comedy up-and-comer Amy Poehler made her debut on SNL.
• Social media website thefacebook.com launched at select colleges and universities.

So for the entire time that we’ve lived in a post-Friends, social-media tinged society (which feels like forever, right?), driving per person has declined, on average. Driving levels haven’t been this low since 1997.

Is it just me, or did Friends kinda suck? How did they afford that apartment in New York City?