RIO DE JANEIRO - A total of 40,610 people were killed in traffic accidents in Brazil last year, 8 percent up from 2009, Health Ministry said Friday.

According to the ministry, 25 percent of the deaths occurred in accidents involving motorcycles.

From 2002 to 2010, the death toll in traffic accidents in Brazil rose 24 percent, while the death toll in motorcycle accidents increased threefold.

The number of hospital admittances following traffic accidents also increased, reaching 145,000 in 2010, 15 percent up from 2009. Those admittances caused an expense of 190 million reais ($109 million) to the public healthcare system.