Traffic Deaths Rise at Record Rate, NHTSA Says

The total number of people killed in traffic crashes jumped 9% in the first half of 2012 to 16,290, the largest increase in first-half fatalities since the federal government started tracking the statistic.

Road fatalities hit their highest level since 2009, when there were 16,527 deaths, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in its preliminary estimate released this week.

NHTSA did not break out truck crashes.

Based on estimates of how many miles Americans drove, there were 1.12 road fatalities per 100 million miles traveled, down from 1.04 in the first half of 2011 and is the highest since the 2009 level of 1.13.