Estimated 38,000 motor vehicle-related deaths occurred in U.S. last year

A preliminary projection from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggests that about 38,080 people were killed in motor vehicle collisions in the United States last year.

That would be an increase of about 5.3% over 2011, which had 32,367 fatalities, according to the NHTSA. If the projection is accurate, it would also make 2012 the first year with a year-to-year increase in fatalities since 2005.

In each quarter of 2012, the number of fatalities also increased over the comparable quarters in the year before, the NHTSA said.

It is also projecting that the fatality rate for 2012 will increase to 1.16 (fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled), versus 1.10 in 2011. In 2009, the rate was 1.15, the NHTSA noted.

However, “the historic downward trend in traffic fatalities in the past several years means any comparison will be to an unprecedented low baseline figure,” the organization pointed out.

“Traffic fatalities have been steadily declining over the previous six years since reaching a near-term peak in 2004, decreasing by about 26% from 2005 to 2011,” it stated.

Last year, vehicle miles traveled also increased by about 9.1 billion miles, according to preliminary data from the Federal Highway Administration.

The NHTSA is continuing to collect data on 2012’s motor vehicle fatalities, from police accident reports and other sources.