The US Transportation Department said highway travel in the country fell by 2.9% in February compared to 2009 due to snowstorms.

In the same month, the country also recorded the lowest miles driven since 2003, falling 6.3 billion miles to 212.9 billion miles, the department said.

The number of miles driven so far in 2010 is down by 2.3% from the same period in 2009.

Higher gasoline prices are also expected to have kept motorists off roads, according to uk.reuters.com.

Drivers are observed through more than 4,000 automatic traffic recorders operated by state highway agencies.