The number of people killed in traffic accidents across Turkey between January and the end of March this year was 394, according to official figures. The fatalities appear high, though they are relatively low compared to the overall number of accidents in the same period, which was 107,750. Another 53,605 people were injured in the accidents.
Compliance with traffic safety rules is still low in the country despite repeated traffic safety campaigns. Reckless driving, almost invariably, is the top cause of the accidents every year, ahead of other factors like drink driving.
The government prioritizes awareness in its campaign against the “traffic monster” as educating drivers is key to addressing reckless driving. Though it boosted the presence of law enforcement and modernized its roads, the country still has a high fatality rate from traffic accidents. The casualties reported in the first three months of 2022 do not include the people who later succumbed to injuries they sustained in the accidents and thus, the number of fatalities may be higher.
The majority of accidents occurred in residential areas while only 18,905 accidents took place in rural places or in sparsely populated areas. Only 332 accidents resulted in fatalities, while people (drivers, pedestrians and passengers) were injured in 36,690 accidents. The rest of the accidents resulted in damage to vehicles and/or property.
Most accidents stemmed from vehicles crashing into each other, while 6,702 accidents involved vehicles running over pedestrians. Some 16,837 accidents involved a single vehicle while 17,888 accidents involved two vehicles.
Statistics for the accidents in three months show that driver error played the main role in the accidents. Driver faults include failure to adjust speed to match traffic, road and weather conditions, violation of right of way rules or failure to give way to other vehicles, especially in intersections, and violation of rules regarding changing lanes.
Istanbul, which also has the highest population, highest number of motor vehicles and the worst traffic, had the highest number of accidents at 4,881, ahead of the capital Ankara, which reported 2,752 accidents, and Turkey’s third-largest city Izmir, which had 2,537 accidents in the three-month period. A total of 32 people died in accidents in Istanbul while another 6,147 people were injured. The fatalities were 20 in Ankara and 13 in Izmir. The lowest number of accidents with fatalities or injuries between January and late March was in the northeastern province of Ardahan. Only one person was killed in 21 accidents while another 40 people were injured.
In the same period, traffic police issued total fines of more than $298,452 (TL 4.4 million) to people violating traffic safety rules. More than 797,000 fines were issued to drivers, while others were given to pedestrians and the owners of vehicles. More than 287,000 vehicles were permanently banned from traffic in the same period.
