DHAKA — Motorbike accidents drove more than four in 10 road deaths across Bangladesh last month. The Passengers Welfare Association of Bangladesh report tallied 223 fatalities from motorcycles alone amid 586 total road deaths.

Those 209 motorbike crashes also injured 132 people. They made up 37.86 percent of the 552 road accidents recorded nationwide. Officials at the association, which monitors national, regional and online media, signed off on the findings under Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhury.

Road crashes dominated the toll. They killed 546 people and injured 1,204 others. Railway accidents added 37 incidents with 33 deaths and 28 injuries. Waterway mishaps totaled eight, claiming seven lives, injuring six and leaving three missing.

Dhaka division suffered the worst. Its 132 road accidents killed 133 and hurt 328. Sylhet division fared best with 29 crashes, 28 deaths and 63 injuries.

Victims cut across society. Road accidents hit 131 drivers, 89 pedestrians, 53 transport workers, 79 students, nine teachers, 62 women and 67 children. The dead included two police personnel, two army members, one navy member, four physicians, one freedom fighter, 127 drivers, 89 pedestrians, 54 women, 48 children, 57 students, 21 transport workers, eight teachers and 11 political activists.

A total of 829 vehicles crashed on roads. Motorcycles topped the list at 28.46 percent. Trucks, pickups, covered vans and lorries followed at 23.64 percent. Buses accounted for 14.35 percent, battery-run rickshaws and easy-bikes 13.63 percent, CNG auto-rickshaws 5.54 percent, local vehicles like Nasimon, Karimon, Mahindra, tractors and legunas 9.04 percent, and cars, jeeps and microbuses 5.30 percent.

Run-over incidents led crash types at 48.36 percent. Head-on collisions hit 28.62 percent. Vehicles plunging into ditches after losing control caused 16.84 percent. Miscellaneous factors made up 5.61 percent, scarves entangling in wheels 0.18 percent and train-vehicle collisions 0.36 percent.

National highways saw 42.57 percent of accidents. Regional highways hosted 27.89 percent, feeder roads 24.09 percent. Dhaka metropolitan area recorded 4.52 percent, Chattogram metropolitan 0.54 percent and rail crossings 0.36 percent.

The report pins blame on road transport policy gaps. It cites unchecked slow vehicles like battery-run rickshaws on highways, poor road signs and markings, missing medians and street lights, shoddy construction, unfit vehicles, unskilled drivers, overloading, reckless driving and fatigued operation.

Overall, 597 road, rail and waterway accidents injured 1,238 people in January. The association’s data highlights persistent dangers for motorbike riders and others on Bangladesh’s roads.