Prince George’s County lead the region in traffic-related deaths in 2005, with more than double the number of fatalities of any counties in Maryland and Virginia or the District, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Pedestrian-vehicle deaths in the county increased by nearly 100 percent in 2005, up from 18 in 2004 to 35 in 2005 — nearly as many as the entire Washington region combined, the report showed. The study said that Prince George’s had 134 traffic-related fatalities in 2005, up from 120 in 2004.

Arlington, Prince William and the District saw minor increases, led mainly by increases in motorcycle and pedestrian deaths. Sixteen of the District’s 48 traffic-related fatalities were pedestrians, up from nine in 2004 but down from a 10-year high of 18 in 2003, the study showed.

Montgomery County saw the largest decrease in traffic fatalities, down from 79 in 2004 to 44 in 2005, mainly because of dramatic decrease in alcohol-related traffic deaths. The county reported 14 alcohol-related fatalities in 2005, down from five-year high of 38 in 2004.

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Fairfax County, the largest jurisdiction in the region with more than 1.1 million residents, saw 62 traffic-related fatalities in 2005, down from 64 in 2004 but up from 54 in 2001. Pedestrian deaths accounted for 10 of the total deaths, down from 16 in 2004. Motorcycle deaths in the county increased from one in 2004 to five in 2005.

Nationally, the total number of fatalities rose 1.4 percent from 42,836 in 2004 to 43,443 in 2005 while the rate of fatalities was 1.47 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, up from 1.45 in 2004, the study showed.

Acting U.S. Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino said the increase mainly stems from a spike in motorcycle and pedestrian deaths. Motorcycle fatalities rose 13 percent from 4,028 in 2004 to 4,553 in 2005 and of that almost half of the people who died were not wearing a helmet. The number of pedestrian fatalities increased to 4,881 in 2005 from 4,675 in 2004, she said.

Good trends the study showed were fewer young drivers died in car crashes in 2005 for the third straight year and the number of children killed in crashes also declined.

“We have no tolerance for any numbers higher than zero,” Cino said. “Motorcyclists need to wear their helmets, drivers need to buckle up and all motorists need to stay sober.”

mrupert@dcexaminer.com