After soaring since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, traffic deaths declined slightly in the first nine months of 2022, according to federal data released Monday.

Nearly 31,800 people were killed in traffic crashes from January through September, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a 0.2% decrease from the same period a year earlier, and offers hope after record increases in the number of people killed on roads since 2020.

The death rate on the nation’s roads, however, remains high amid a surge in speeding, aggressive driving, and other reckless behaviors that have caused more lethal crashes in recent years, federal officials say. When compared to the previous year, traffic fatalities jumped by 7% in 2020 and 10.5% in 2021, hitting a 20-year high.

Still, officials say the decline of 65 deaths in the first three quarters of 2022, compared to 2021, signals the surge is finally leveling off.

“We have far more work to do to save lives and address the crisis on our nation’s roadways,” NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson said in a statement. “We urge everyone to do their part by driving safely and watching out for others on the road, especially vulnerable road users like pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.”

While overall traffic deaths were down, officials said the number of pedestrians and bicyclists killed on U.S. roads continued to rise in the first nine months of 2022. While nine-month figures weren’t available Monday, an NHTSA report last month showed 3,340 pedestrians and 448 people on bikes or similar nonmotorized vehicles were killed in the first six months of the year, increases of 2% and 8%, respectively. They accounted for nearly 20% of all traffic fatalities.

The increase in pedestrian and bicyclist deaths is troubling, traffic safety advocates and experts say, because more people embraced biking and walking during the pandemic. Cities across the country, including Washington and New York, have turned to lowering speed limits as a step toward reversing the trend. Some are considering slow-driving zones in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic, and many have adopted “Vision Zero,” a program aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries.

Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said the small decrease in overall deaths is welcomed but underscores the record rise in deaths in recent years, which he said are “unacceptable.”

“This giant backward slide is due in part to a spike in unsafe motorist behaviors that included speeding, impaired and distracted driving, and lack of seat belt use,” he said in a statement, urging more investments in traffic safety to prevent crashes and save lives.

He said the surge in deaths since 2020 and dangerous driving, coupled with the continued rise in bicyclist and pedestrian deaths, highlights “the urgent need to ensure that road users not in vehicles enjoy the same protections as drivers and their passengers.”

The figures unveiled Monday are preliminary. They show deaths increased in 25 states, including in five where officials estimated crash deaths jumped at least 20%. Alabama saw no change while 24 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico saw declines.

Among, other highlights from the first half of 2022: The number of children up to age 16 who were killed dropped by 10%; speed-related deaths were down by 2%; and the number of deaths on urban and local roads dropped by 10%, while it increased by 12% on rural interstates. Motorcyclist deaths were up 5%.

The data also shows that Americans drove more in the first nine months of 2022 than in the same period in 2021. Vehicle-miles traveled increased by 1.6% from January to September, and the fatality rate dropped to 1.30 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 1.32 deaths during the same time in 2021.