The final data on 2015 fatal traffic crashes in the U.S. revealed an alarming rise of 7.2% more deaths than in 2014, ending a five-decade trend of declining fatalities.

The last single-year increase this large was in 1966, when fatalities rose 8.1% from the previous year.

Last year, 35,092 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes across the country, prompting a “Call to Action” by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

That number of fatalities equates to nearly 100 people dying from vehicle-related accidents every day. In an effort to raise awareness and solicit feedback from any and all contributors who would like to comment on these disturbing statistics, DOT is urging citizens to be engaged and to take a stand.

The Agency is asking for comments from scientists, public health experts, students, researchers, safety professionals, drivers – just about anyone who wants to help answer some key questions about what the data is saying about why there are so many people in the country still talking or texting, drinking, using drugs, eating, applying make-up, or getting distracted while their attention needs to be on driving and the area around them.

To comment, you can download the data and then contribute your thoughts with an email to the Data Science team, opendata@dot.gov.