For the first time in 15 years, the nation has seen an increase in vehicle-related deaths, specifically for motorcyclists and pedestrians, a recent report said.

This is the first rise in traffic accident fatalities since 1990, according to the 2005 Annual Assessment of Motor Vehicle Crashes report released in August by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Although there was a decrease in passenger fatalities in 2005, the rise in motorcycle and pedestrian deaths accounted for the 1.4- percent increase from 2004 in vehicular deaths last year, according to the report. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino said in a press release that other fatality statistics had more positive results. She said the number of 16- to 20-year-olds killed in vehicle crashes had declined, as well as the number of people injured in vehicle crashes overall.

"We have no tolerance for any numbers higher than zero," Cino said.

According to the report, the number of people killed in traffic crashes in Pennsylvania rose 8.5 percent in 2005. State College Police Sgt. Mark Argiro said it is difficult to get a consistent sample of vehicle-related deaths in State College because the numbers are so low.

"We may have one one year and three the next," Argiro said.

Last February, Xiaohui Xia, 25, was struck by a car while she was crossing South Allen Street near Logan Avenue. She died Feb. 14 of injuries sustained in the accident. In March, Bohdan Kulakowski, 63, a mechanical engineering professor, was riding his bike along the 1400 block of Boalsburg Road when a van struck and killed him. Argiro added that there are some ongoing efforts to improve pedestrian safety in State College, including the addition of a pedestrian "node" at the corner of Beaver Avenue and Allen Street.