Cut the death rate

I have a whole lot to say on this, but I just found the start to the stats I need.

Fatalities from car accidents: http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx

Transportation related fatalities: (includes non-auto related, including transit related.): http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx

Now I just have to find the transit-related fatalities per passenger-mile.

The hypothesis that I want to test would start:

A vibrant public transit system could save tens of thousands of lives each year in the US.

And, a side note. The number of auto fatalities dropped 10% in 2008 from 2007. The biggest decline in the reported years. Due to the slowing economy?
The available numbers go back 30 years.