Nov. 20, 2013—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a study this week stating motor vehicle crashes and fatalities increased in 2012, after six consecutive years of declining fatalities.

The NHTSA 2012 Motor Vehicle Crash Report stated that the number of fatalities increased from 32,479 in 2011 to 33,561 in 2012. The study does not provide a specific reason for the recent increase.

The study showed a 5.2 percent increase in the total number of crashes from 5,338,000 in 2011 to 5,615,000 in 2012.

The study can be viewed in its entirety at the NHTSA website.