Minnesota Traffic Deaths Rise in 2012

Traffic safety officials say Minnesota last year saw its first increase in traffic deaths since 2007.

The final crash report shows Minnesota had 395 traffic deaths in 2012. That’s a 7 percent increase from 2011, when 368 deaths were recorded.

But officials say it represents a 40 percent drop in deaths from a decade ago.

Officials cite a mild winter, a slight increase in miles traveled and a jump in motorcyclist deaths in 2012 as reasons for the increase.

The 2012 fatality count is the second-lowest annual death figure since 1944 when 356 people were killed.