A final tally of Minnesota road deaths in 2010 has put the number of fatalities at 411 -- the lowest since 1944, when 356 people were killed on state roads, state officials said.

The figure confirms earlier projections of a third consecutive annual drop in road fatalities, and comes about a month after officials said that Minnesota was on pace to see road deaths fall to 375 in 2011.

"The continuing drop in road fatalities is a clear and positive signal that motorists are making safe decisions behind the wheel," Mona Dohman, the state's public safety commissioner, said in a news release Tuesday.

According to the release, motorists logged about the same number of miles in 2010 as they did in 2009. The 2010 fatality rate was 0.72 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles. The national fatality rate was 1.10, officials said.

The state's 2010 fatalities included 305 vehicle occupants, 45 motorcyclists, 36 pedestrians and nine bicyclists, among other categories. Of the vehicle occupants who were killed, 148 were wearing seat belts.

Alcohol-related deaths fell from 141 in 2009 to 131 in 2010, the lowest count since 1984.

Teenage deaths rose slightly, from 38 in 2009 to 41 in 2010. The increase was due in part to two accidents in April 2010, when three teens were killed in a race between drivers in southeastern Minnesota and, two days later, when six people were killed in a head-on crash in Cambridge. But officials say teenage deaths have declined since 2004, when 78 teens were killed.

ANTHONY LONETREE