Traffic deaths     1     (increase) in the past several years. U.S. traffic death toll reached a 16-year high in 2021, with nearly 43,000 deaths.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that 9,560 people died in motor vehicle     2     (crash) between January and March, up 7% from the same period the year before. That would make it the deadliest first three months of the year since 2002.

The auto-safety regulator said the numbers     3     (release) on Wednesday are not accurate enough and remain to be revised in coming months. The report doesn’t include information on     4     the crashes happened, but Dr. Cliff said one third of traffic deaths are     5     (typical) caused by drivers influenced by alcohol or other substances.

A number of issues are causing     6     rise in traffic deaths, Mr. Adkins said, including careless driving and fewer police officers on the road.     7     (see) a police car gets drivers to slow down, he said. He also said roads aren’t designed to make it safe for bicyclists     8     (share) the road with cars.

The regulator said the state with the biggest increase of deaths was Delaware,     9     more than doubled its traffic deaths to 50 in the first quarter, compared with 19 in the same period the year before. They fell the most in Rhode Island, dropping by 50%     10     an estimated seven deaths.