Each year, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration issues a report  on increases and decreases in the number of injuries and fatalities on the nation’s highways.  With the recent release of the 2011 statistics, there are reasons to celebrate and reasons to be concerned.

On a positive note, the NHTSA reports that highway deaths dropped to 32,367, reflecting a 26 percent decrease since 2005 and marking the lowest level of fatalities since the agency began counting in 1949. In addition, the number of people who were injured in crashes dropped from 2.24 million in 2010 to 2.22 million in 2011. Furthermore, alcohol-impaired fatalities declined by 2.5 percent from 2010 to 2011.

Among the most disconcerting figures related to large truck crashes. Overall, the number of people killed in large truck collisions rose by nearly 2 percent in 2011. The number of truck occupants fatally injured in large truck crashes increased by 20 percent and the number of non-occupants increased by 19 percent. Non-occupants may include people such as pedestrians and pedal cyclists.

For residents of New York and New Jersey, the increase in both pedestrian and pedal cyclist fatalities is of interest.  Deaths of pedal cyclists rose nearly 9 percent and pedestrian fatalities increased 3 percent. Motorcycle fatalities increased just over 2 percent. Interestingly, the number of non-fatal injury crashes involving pedestrians, pedal cyclists and motorcyclists fell. For example, the number of pedal cyclists who were injured in 2011 dropped from 52,000 in 2010 to 48,000 in 2011.

Also of interest for New York and New Jersey residents are the overall traffic fatality figures for both states. Traffic fatalities declined nearly 3 percent in New York but rose by 13 percent in New Jersey. The NHTSA report does not attempt to explain the reasons behind the figures for individual states.