After years of steady progress making highways safer, auto-safety advocates are voicing alarm over a surge in traffic fatalities and fears that the deadly trend is strengthening.

Last year, traffic deaths increased 6 percent to 40,200, according to preliminary estimates released Wednesday by the National Safety Council, a nonprofit organization that works closely with federal safety agencies.

If the estimates are confirmed, it will be the first time since 2007 that more than 40,000 people have died in motor vehicle crashes in a single year. The 2016 total follows a 7 percent rise in 2015.

The safety council’s figures typically closely track the fatality totals that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration compiles. NHTSA has not yet released a total for 2016.

Part of the increase is believed to stem from the improving economy, which allows people to drive more miles.

But safety advocates cite other factors such as slack enforcement of seat belt, drunken driving, and speeding laws. They also blame smartphone use by distracted drivers.

New York Times