NBC NATIONAL NEWS — No progress was made in reducing motorcycle deaths last year according to the Governor's Highway Safety Association.

Studies based on preliminary data from 50 states and D.C., motorcycle fatalities remained at 4,500 in 2011, which was the same level as the previous year.

Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration projected that overall motor vehicle fatalities declined nearly two percent last year, reaching their lowest level since 1949.