The auto death toll went up almost 8 % in 2015. See report on NPR here [1].
Why?
More vehicle miles driven is given as one factor in the increase. But the% increase in miles driven was only half of the fatality increase %.
I drive fairly often on interstate highways around North America and it is my observation that drivers are acting more and more frantic and crazed. Driving 75mph with only about one car space between them and the car ahead of them. Crazy. Did they never take a physics class? Reaction times? Piece of debris on the highway being tossed up by the car in front of them? Amount of inertial energy in their vehicle?
Could it be that traffic deaths are increasing because of a wide spread cheapening of our sense of self-worth?
Links:
[1] http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/29/491854557/traffic-deaths-climb-by-largest-increase-in-decades