The Fourth of July's reputation as the deadliest day on Minnesota roads might have to be changed after this year's holiday.

The Minnesota State Patrol and the Department of Public Safety recorded no traffic fatalities on state roads Wednesday, or in the hours leading up to it and following it, according to preliminary reports.

For the past three years, Independence Day has been the deadliest day for motorists, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety. Between 2008 and 2011, there were a total of 21 deaths in the 78 hours surrounding the holiday. Fourteen of those deaths were due to alcohol-impaired crashes.

Officials with the Department of Public Safety and the State Patrol said it's difficult to pinpoint why there were no deaths this year. There has, however, been an overall increase in traffic fatalities this year, according to the traffic safety report. There were 147 deaths midway through the year, compared to 136 in 2011.

Doug Neville, a Public Safety spokesman, said people are encouraged to drive carefully, wear seat belts and not to drink and drive. "Hopefully people are getting that message," he said.

The State Patrol did report a critical-injury incident involving a 13-year-old Brooklyn Park bicyclist shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday. Tony Gatz was riding his bicycle across the 73rd Avenue N., at Hwy. 252, when he was struck by a northbound vehicle driven by Mursal Gurey, 41, also of Brooklyn Park. He was taken to North Memorial Medical Center where he was in critical condition as of midday Thursday.

Masako Hirsch • 612-673-4263