The Department of Public Safety says Minnesota's roads are the safest they've been in over 70 years, or at least less deadly. Preliminary results put traffic deaths under 400 fatalities. That's second best in the nation.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety projects we'll reach 355 deaths this year -- which would mark a fourth consecutive drop in traffic fatalities and a 38 percent reduction in deaths from a decade ago.

The 2012 figure is on pace with the 204 deaths at this time in 2011, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. This year's 205 deaths include four bicyclist, 29 motorcyclists and 18 pedestrians.

The state has the second-lowest fatality rate in the nation, with just 349 deaths due to traffic crashes in 2011, according to early data from the Department of Public Safety. Officials say seat-belt use is at a record high while DWI arrests are falling.

Traffic deaths in Minnesota reached their lowest level since World War II last year. But there's always room for improvement, as the name of the "Toward Zero Deaths" conference indicates. The event in Bloomington brings together the departments of transportation, public safety, and health.

Traffic congestion dropped 30 percent last year from 2010 in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, and the biggest decrease was in Minneapolis, according to a new study. The number of road projects in the city dropped from 283 in 2010 to 258 in 2011, one official said.