With six fewer fatalities in motor vehicle crashes last year, Rhode Island saw its toll of people killed in crashes drop by nearly 7 percentage points, according to a national traffic study released yesterday.

There were 81 people killed in motor vehicle crashes in the state last year, while there were 87 the year before.

In Massachusetts, there were 441 people killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2005, which dropped to 430 last year — a decline of 2.5 percentage points. But Connecticut saw an increase from 278 people killed in 2005 to 301 last year — a rise of 8.3 percentage points.

Nationwide, the number of people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes dropped as well, from 43,510 in 2005 to 42,642 last year, says the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration assessment. The assessment says it’s the biggest decline in number and percentage of deaths from motor vehicle traffic accidents since 1992. However, the assessment notes that motorcycle rider deaths continued their nine-year increase, reaching 4,810 last year — that accounts for 11 percent of total motor vehicle traffic deaths.