UK Man Shocked At How Far Americans Drive

In the video below, this gentleman from the UK is here in America for the World Cup. He is genuinely surprised by how far Americans have to drive on any given day.

The average car journey in the UK is approximately 8.1 to 8.2 miles long. Daily driving habits are heavily concentrated on short distances, with 28% of drivers covering less than 10 miles and 41% driving 10–20 miles per day.

In American cities, folks go a little farther, but the traffic keeps them on the road for much longer.

He says that a 30-minute drive is considered too much by UK standards. Has he visited states like Wyoming yet?

According to Kelly Blue Book, Wyoming has the highest average annual mileage per driver in the United States, with residents driving approximately 21,500 to over 24,000 miles per year. This is nearly twice the national average of about 14,000 miles. A drive of a couple of hours or more is common in the Cowboy State.

Wyoming residents are more than used to the long amount of time spent driving.

While many people talk about driving in miles, Wyomingites talk about how much time it takes to get someplace.

Driving across Wyoming takes anywhere from 5 to 9 hours depending on your route. Statewide, an average daily highway drive usually covers 350 to 450 miles. Because of the vast distances, Wyoming drivers log an average of 24,069 miles per year - the highest in the country.

Wyoming is known for being one of the bigger states, as far as land mass is concerned. So if you intend to drive from one end to the next, how long would it take? As you might expect, it depends on which route you take.

Drive time is always subjective due to road conditions, traffic, weather, and construction.

Driving north/south on Interstate 25/90, it takes approximately 6 to 7 hours to drive from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to the Montana state line, covering a distance of roughly 400–450 miles. The fastest and most direct route is taking I-25 North through Casper and Buffalo, then continuing toward the Montana border near Sheridan or Ranchester.

It typically takes between 5 and 6 hours to drive from the east side of Wyoming (Nebraska border near Pine Bluffs) to the west side (Utah border near Evanston) via Interstate 80, covering roughly 400–450 miles.

If you want to cross Wyoming by its more scenic older highways, it will take quite a bit longer, but the trip is by far more beautiful.

Driving across most US states takes between 2 and 8 hours.

Depending on the direction of travel (width vs. height), traffic, and route choice, with the longest stretches commonly over 10 hours in states like Texas and Alaska. Non-stop driving across the entire Lower 48 states generally takes about 113 hours (nearly 5 days), covering over 13,000 miles.

Texas: ~17 hours (longest, often driven east-west).
California: ~10 hours.
Florida: ~12 hours (due to the Panhandle stretch).
Alaska: ~82 hours (longest total, includes non-highway driving).
Arizona: ~7 hours.
New York: ~10 hours (Long Island to Buffalo).
Pennsylvania: ~4.5–7 hours.Iowa: ~5 hours.

Rhode Island is widely recognized as the shortest state to drive across, measuring roughly 37 miles north-to-south and 48 miles east-to-west, making it the smallest state by total area.