WASHINGTON – Drunken-driving deaths declined slightly across the nation and fell in 32 states including Maine last year, traffic safety officials said Monday in beginning a campaign to crack down on drunken driving during the Labor Day holiday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported a 2 percent decrease in fatal crashes in 2004 involving at least a driver or a motorcycle rider with an illegal blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher.

The government said 12,874 motorists died under those circumstances in 2004, compared with 13,096 in 2003. All 50 states had a 0.08 standard with Minnesota’s adoption of the law earlier this year.

Alcohol-related fatalities in Maine dropped from 65 in 2003 to 58 in 2004, a reduction of 11 percent, officials said.