Changes in Traffic Safety Policies andRegulations in Turkey(1950–2010)

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in 7 Countries (1950-2010)
Copyright(C) 2012 International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, All rights reserved.

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

1. Introduction
In this report Turkey’s policies on traffic safety and the general aspects are examined. First, we
provide an overview of the main aspects of the problem of traffic accidents in Turkey. We began witha brief summary of the traffic regulations and transportation policies prior to year 1950. This
information will help to clarify the background of the policies after 1950. We consider the issue oftraffic accidents after 1950 to be a direct consequence of transportation policies, economic
development, educational level, etc., as well as a consequence of various new laws and regulations on
traffic. We then provide an overview of all the traffic laws that were in effect from the beginning of
the republic period (1923) to the year 2010, highlighting their basic principles and newly adopted
ideas. Next we provided important background information related to these laws and regulations, theirobjectives and goals, and the period in which these laws and policies were in effect. Finally, we
explain the development of institutions on traffic safety and road transportation, and clarify theirrespective aims.

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2. Overview of Traffic Accidents in Turkey
Road traffic accidents are a worldwide problem resulting in more than 1.2 million fatalities andbetween 20 and 50 million injuries every year [1]. Road traffic accidents are currently the ninth
leading cause of death around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that thisfigure will rise to become the fifth leading cause of death by the year 2030 (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 Leading cause of death, 2004 and 2030 compared [1]The situation is even more severe for the developing countries. Over 90% of the world’s traffic
fatalities occur in low-income and middle-income countries, despite the fact that these countries have
only 48% of the world’s vehicles. Low-income and middle-income countries have higher road traffic
fatality rates (21.5 and 19.5 deaths for every 100,000 people, respectively) than high-income countries(10.3 deaths per 100,000) [1]. Table 1 presents the accident data from various countries.

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Table 1 Comparison of 2009 Traffic Accident Data from Various Countries [2] [3]Country

Number of
Fatal andInjuryAccidents

Numberof
Fatalities

Numberof
Vehicles(x1,000)

Population(x1,000)

Vehiclesper 1,000
population

Fatalities
per
100,000
VehiclesFatalities
per
100,000
PeopleFatalities
per billion
veh-kmAustria

39,468

633

5,972

8,373

713

10.6

7.6

9.0

Canada151,3212,130

21,30034,076

625

10.0

6.3

6.3

C. Republic

16,415901

8,500

10,512

809

10.6

8.6

19.4

Finland

7,052

279

3,100

5,358

579

9.0

5.2

5.2

France58,215

4,273

31,95165,447

488

13.4

6.5

7.8

Germany

320,314

4,152

39,17081,758

479

10.6

5.1

6.0

Japan

886,864

5,772

90,188

127,380

708

6.4

4.5

7.7

Netherlands

25,308644

9,200

16,605

554

7.0

3.9

5.6

New Zealand

7,425

384

3,200

4,365

733

12.0

8.8

9.6

Norway

6,733

212

3,029

4,877

621

7.0

4.3

5.4

Poland46,876

4,572

20,782

38,164

545

22.0

12.0

9.1

Portugal

35,680840

5,600

10,637

526

15.0

7.9

Slovenia

11,731

171

1,315

2,057

639

13.0

8.3

9.6

South Korea

209,524

5,838

20,85049,773

419

28.0

11.7

20.0

Spain

99,797

2,714

30,15645,989

656

9.0

5.9

Sweden16,344

358

5,114

9,349

547

7.0

3.8

4.4

Switzerland

27,088

349

4,986

7,783

641

7.0

4.5

5.7

Turkey110,906

4,324

14,31772,561

197

30.0

5.9

43.4*

UK

258,404

2,337

35,40962,042

571

6.6

3.8

4.6

*Due to the limited resources in travelling data, the figures include only accidents that occurred on freeways,
state roads, and province roads.

Turkey, with 5.9 fatalities per every 100,000 people, may at first glance look like one of the safest
countries. Yet because Turkey has the lowest vehicle ownership among the given countries, thisstatistic is misleading. A more meaningful formulation of the data would show that Turkey has a ratioof 30 fatalities per every 100,000 vehicles—which is the highest of all the countries cited above. For
the better comparison, we might instead use the exposure data, i.e. the total vehicle-kilometers. Whenformulated this way, Turkey—with 43.4 fatalities per every billion vehicle kilometers—has by far thehighest death ratio.
Moreover, it becomes clear that the situation in Turkey is even worse when traffic data only includes
the fatalities that occurred within the day of accident. (Data in most of the other countries include thefatalities that occurred within 30 succeeding days of the accident.)
Accordingly, WHO estimates that these unreported fatalities are added, the number of fatalities in
Turkey in 2009 rises from 4,324 to 6,022 [1].

117Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

3. Transportation Policies at the Beginning (1923-1950)
Since the founding of the Republic of Turkey, investments in transportation infrastructure have served
as the backbone of the country’s development policy. In the beginning, there were only 13,900km
stabilized road and only 4,000 km of the total road network were in good condition. During the first 30
years of the new state, railroad constructions constituted the biggest government investments, andnearly no motorways were constructed. The natural difficulties in transportation that arose from thegeography of the land had a huge role in shaping the social and economic structure of Turkey. The
land’s mountainous formation and lack of rivers suitable for travel made the transportation very costly
and prevented the integration of social and economic life in Anatolia. In the 1920s, the prioritization ofrailroads was a response to the necessity of an integrated national market and to an increase in theexport capacity of the country [4]. Railroad constructions began in 1924, and led to 3,360 km of new
network in 20 years. Considering the simple construction technology and scarce resources of that time,
construction of railroads was very fast.
Construction of motorways was very slow until the Second World War. Between 1923 and 1929, thelength of the road network increased only from 13,900 km to 14,400 km. Yet the majority of theseroads were not in good condition—in fact, by today’s standards they would not even be regarded as“roads.” Between 1923 and 1933, Turkey constructed 2,600 km of new stabilized road, and repaired
6,170 km of road. Between 1939 and 1945, the war economy brought transportation investments to a
halt. In 1947, there was 825 km of asphalt road and 43,743 km of stabilized road [4]. Road
infrastructure was not suitible for transportation at all.

4. Traffic Regulations (1923-1950)
The 564th and 565th clauses of Turkish Panel Code (Act No: 765), which came into effect on March
13, 1926, authorized the city police to control drivers who endanger the safety of life and property.
These clauses were very effective in preventing traffic accidents. The clause the 565th in particularstates that any person endangers another person or property on the street or in any open public space
while driving automobile or riding an animal is subject to a jail term of 20 days and a nominal fine.
Moreover, if this person is a professional driver or a coachman, he is subject to a one-monthsuspension of his driver’s license. These statements were in effect the first traffic regulations in
Turkey. At that time, there were only 1,000 automobiles in all of Turkey, 800 of which were in
Istanbul [4].
Municipality Law (Act no: 1580), that came into effect on April 14, 1930, authorized themunicipalities to control the maximum cargo limits of vehicles and to determine the classes andnumbers of automobiles, trucks, buses and horse cars that travelled on the roads between municipal
areas and villages. Moreover, the district municipalities began at this time to monitor driving skills andthe health of the drivers. The same clause states that, for borders between towns, the municipalities are118

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

responsible for determining the maximum and minimum speed limits and cruising price lists ofcarriage vehicles. The law also put municipalities in charge of maintaining traffic order. A traffic
guideline was prepared and put into effect in order to accomplish these tasks. The guideline mainly
concerns vehicle registrations and the administering of driver’s license by conducting traffic tests andcontrolling the traffic order in big cities. However, by making the municipalities responsible for traffic
services, the law resulted in different applications of rules in every municipality. In addition, otherconsequences of the law included difficulties in vehicle inspections, corruption in driver tests, anddifficulties in traffic checks on the intercity roads and rural roads.
In 1934, the law passed regarding police duties gave the police officers the authorization to control
drunk driving and other traffic offences that endanger the public safety.
As technology developed, the number of motor vehicles increased rapidly and traffic accidents becamea big problem. For this reason, lawmakers and developers began to reconsider the road traffic law thatwas passed in 1930. As a result, General Directorate of Safety, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, andAnkara, Istanbul, Izmir Municipalities together prepared a new law draft. In 1938, this bill was
submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), but it did not pass.
During the Second World War, economic shortage had a negative effect on vehicle supply. After thewar, the social and economic developments increased the demand on transportation services. In
addition to this, technological advances made high-speed vehicles a real possibility, and countries allaround the world began to construct new road systems. Within this global context, the roadtransportation in Turkey also developed rapidly. Due to all these developments, the number of traffic
accidents, fatalities and injuries rapidly increased.

5. Transportation Policies and Traffic Regulations (1950-1980)
5.1 Transportation Policies
In the 1950s, particulary after the start of the U.S. Marshall Plan, construction of strategical roads
became very important. Within the framework of Marshall aid, national govenment abandoned
railroad transportation policies and ceased investments in railroads. The construction of motorways
took up nearly 95% of all state investments on transportation [6]. Automotive firms that grew
tremendously during the Second World War (e.g., American Ford, General Motors and petrolleum
companies) strongly asserted that they were on the side of road transportation all around the world.
Until 1950, Turkey’s transportation infrastructure was largely based on rail transport. During thepreliminary arrangements to Marshall Aid, the Vice Director of Federal Bureau of Public Roads, Mr.
Hilts visited Turkey and prepared a report in 1947 suggesting improvements to the highway system.
His suggestions were accepted by Turkish Ministry of Transportation in February 1948. Mr. Hilts´suggestion appears to have been based on the premise of the necessity to distribute the increased119Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emiragricultural production nationwide. As a matter of fact, the highway systems of Turkey developed
using machinery, asphalt and technical assistance all provided by the U.S. Many Turkish civilengineers were sent to the U.S. for education. On March 1, 1950, Turkey established The General
Directorate of Highways (KGM), a beurocratic division not connected to Ministry of Transportation.
KGM began to implement the construction of roads, and the Turkish Government increasingly put
more effort into road constructions in the 1950s. Between 1952 and 1962, KGM’s budget reached to
10% of the total state budget [4].
The period between 1950 and 1970 witnessed the rapid development of the road network system. In
1950, the total length of repaired and heavy-machinery-constructed roads was 8,024 km; this number
increased to 33,000km in 1960. Moreover, the length of roads suitable for transport in any season was
9,624 km in 1950, and 22,000km in 1960 [7]. Between 1960 and 1970, the main policy for road
construction was to build roads of low physical and geometrical proportions that were suitable fortransport in both summer and winter. The paving of the roads became increasingly important during
this period. By the end of 1970, the government initiated the construction of expressways. They had
built superstructures for 48,125 km of the total 59,469 km of state and city roads, and asphalted 19,000
km of these roads. In the 1970s, they focused on improving the physical standards of roads, pavingwith asphalt 32% of the total road network. Road construction investments had the biggest portion ofstate’s transportation budgets at that time. After 1980, despite a decrease in road investments in termsof the total state budget, freight and passenger transport on the roads did not slow down. In the 1980s,
Turkey had 62,500 km of long road network, 34,000 km of which were paved with asphalt [7].
After 1960, Turkey’s economic progress was promoted with development plans. The State Planning
Organization played a major role during this period. Turkey announced that they would enact a seriesof four five-year development plans between 1960 and 1980. These plans included major development
paths for critical economic sectors such as transportation, energy, housing, and finance. At the
beginning of the planned period (1963), the portion of passenger transport by roads was 73%, railroads
had 24%, maritime transportation had nearly 3%, and air transport had 1%. The portion of railroads infreight transport (43%) was nearly the same as road transportation (40%).
In the first five-year development plan, Turkey determined that the geometric standards of the roads
were above the national need, but in the second plan, however, they stated that the standards were notsufficient. For that reason, Turkey began to generate new budgets for improving the geometricalstandards as well as the physical standards of the roads.
During the first three plans (1963-1978), the growth of transportation sector was bigger than othersectors, and the portion of this sector in the gross national product increased from 7% in 1960 to 8.6%
in 1978. Each plans’ emphasis on the construction and repair of roads was not the result of a general
concern for traffic safety. In fact, in the first three plans traffic safety precautions were insufficient inseveral regards. It was not until the second five-year plan (1968) that an emphasis on traffic accident
was made, and this emphasis remained in place through the third plan (1973) [5]. Yet these plansstressed only the improvement of road standards. There were no budget plans for improving the traffic

120Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emirsignal system, for increasing awareness on traffic accidents, or for traffic education. In the fourth plan,
they stressed the need to improve alternative transportation systems. However, the reason behind thisemphasis was not the traffic safety considerations but rather the oil shortages and the recession of
automotive sector of that time.

5.2 Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations
The General Directorate of Highways (KGM) was established on March 1, 1950 (Act no: 5539). The
main duties of the KGM were improving the infrastructure of road network system and constructing
new roads. These projects began to gather pace with the establishment of the KGM. The constructionof new roads led to a more frequent use of motorways. As a result, the number of traffic accidents andthe number of people killed and injured in traffic accidents rapidly increased. Before the 1950s,
authorities did not sufficiently deal with the problem of traffic accident because railroads were still thedominant mode of freight and passenger transportation. Yet eventually, traffic accidents became a lifeand property threatening problem that had to be dealt with. For this reason, the govenment began toexert more effort in writing traffic laws, eventually resulting in the Road Traffic Act (Act number:
6085), which was passed by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and came into force on May 11,
1953. This act was the first general law to deal specifically with road traffic. There has been a previous
general law drafted in 1938, but this law did not pass through the parliement due to the generalelections. This demonstrates that traffic safety problem had, by 1953, become a national security
problem, and that previous laws were not sufficient in handling the problem.
Road Traffic Act (1953) states in its third clause that the “duty of arrangement and inspection of traffic
is implemented by city and provincial traffic police who are directly connected to General Directorateof Security. Furthermore, City Security Directorates shall establish traffic bureaues in all city centers
and towns where they have organizations.” Through these means the law—passed 30 years after thedecleration of the Turkish Republic—made possible the creation of a police organization that deals
exclusively in traffic. The law assigned all additional duties to General Directorate of Highways andGeneral Directorate of Security. It also established the City Traffic Commissions for making decisions
about traffic order in cities. Furthermore, it gave extra obligations to municipalities in order to arrange
traffic and construct infrastructure of roads in municipal borders. Before the Road Traffic Act of 1953,
only the municipal police was responsible for the arrangement of traffic, and there was no central
organization for traffic control. The new act, however, cancelled the clauses that were relevant to roadtraffic in the Municipalities Act (Act number: 1580) and assigned the main responsibility ofcontrolling the traffic order was given to the General Directorate of Security.
The Road Traffic Act of 1953 stressed the following three main points:•

Penalties related to traffic offences will be given by the courts of justice,121

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)•Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

The arrangement and control of traffic will be implemented by the traffic police officers who havemotorized vehicles,•

Making vehicle inspections and controls, and ensuring traffic safety equipments are theresposibilities of General Directorate of Highways.

With the act number 6547, dated May 2, 1955—Turkey became member of the Road Traffic
Agreement that was signed in Geneva, Switzerland on September 19, 1949.
The General Directorate of Security Traffic Organization was established with the passing of Act 6376
on March 20, 1954. The Technical Commitee of Roads was founded with the passing of Act 6387 on
March 21, 1954. And the Traffic Courts were established with the passing of Act 6406.
Subsequently, due to budget problems the Turkish government was not able to apply the Road Traffic
Act throughout the whole of the country. The government had been commissioned to enforce the law
gradually over a period of 4 years, with the goal of eventually assuming full enforcement
responsibility. In the first year, the act applied only to Istanbul and Ankara. Some of other big cities
joined in 1955, such as Bursa, Adana, Izmir and Aydın. In 1956, the act was expanded to apply tothirteen other cities. The remaining 48 cities were included in 1957. Finally, in March, 1958 thegovernment completed the establishment of traffic organizations and applied the Road Traffic Act toall regions of Turkey.

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Table 2 Number of Road Motor Vehicles by Type (1950-1980) [8]
Bus

Truck

Light
Commercial
vehicle*Minibus,
Van*

Motorcycle

Year

Car

1950

13,405

3,755

15,404

-

-

2,661

1951

16,427

4,569

18,356

-

-

3,464

1952

23,9385,510

24,722

-

-

4,528

1953

27,692

5,933

27,549

-

-

6,587

1954

28,5996,671

30,250

-

-

8,345

1955

29,9706,848

34,429

-

-

9,510

1956

33,377

7,914

35,070

-

-

1,135

1957

36,755

8,291

36,919

-

-

9,743

1958

34,244

8,065

39,721

-

-

7,329

1959

37,616

8,881

48,094

-

-

8,215

1960

45,767

1,981

57,460

-

-

9,380

1961

52,381

1,956

64,706--

11,076

1962

60,731

1,437

73,323--

12,816

1963

72,034

1,269

80,695--

15,055

1964

79,44920,41275,379--20,575

1965

87,584

22,16979,121--

26,094

1966

91,46912,04147,931

31,462

10,91332,0991967

11,367

13,332

56,88939,927

16,00839,647

1968

12,375

13,94862,61643,441

18,96747,062

1969

13,345

15,52969,47848,655

20,54052,9591970

13,771

15,98070,73052,152

20,91660,994

1971

15,67617,14073,43357,011

22,38068,417

1972

18,272

18,50478,92062,79625,55974,402

1973

24,36020,01186,78071,04330,05580,8601974

31,16021,40495,30981,02534,12286,028

1975

40,54623,763

108,381

98,57940,62391,421

1976

48,89425,388122,176

116,861

46,066

96,984

1977

560,424

27,096

138,093

134,213

51,999102,127

1978

624,438

28,559146,551

144,695

56,836

109,890

1979

688,687

30,634

157,095

155,278

61,596

120,378

1980

742,252

32,783

164,893

165,82164,707

137,931*Since the number of small trucks, vans and minibuses (Light Commercial Vehicles) are treated together withthose of trucks and buses until the year 1966, these items could not be given separetely in the table.

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Table 3 National Population (1950-1980)[8]

Year
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980

Population In Census Years
20,947,188

24,064,763

27,754,820

31,391,421

35,605,176

40,347,719

44,736,957

Mid-Year Population Estimate
20,807,000
21,351,000
21,951,000
22,569,000
23,204,000
23,857,000
24,540,000
25,250,000
25,981,000
26,733,000
27,506,000
28,227,000
28,931,000
29,652,000
30,391,000
31,149,000
31,936,000
32,750,000
33,586,000
34,443,000
35,321,000
36,215,000
37,132,000
38,073,000
39,037,000
40,026,000
40,916,000
41,769,000
42,641,000
43,531,000
44,439,000*Annual intercental increase between two concecutive cencuses are calculated by formula Pn=Po er.n**Mid-year population is calculated by the annual population increase rate as of 1st of July
Where;
Pn : Population at n date (at the initial period),
Pn+t : Population at n+t date (t years later ),e : Logarithm,r : Annual growth rate of population,t : The time period between two dates (in years).

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Table 4 Number of Accidents, Fatalities and Injuries on Roads in Turkey from 1955-1980 [8]Year

Accidents

Fatalities

Injuries

1955

7,493

1,247

8,673

1956

7,397

1,083

7,370

1957

7,816

1,329

8,157

1958

6,856

1,206

6,636

1959

7,542

1,320

7,441

1960

8,136

1,590

7,729

1961

10,3091,861

10,325

1962

11,7702,086

11,691

1963

12,6192,422

12,001

1964

14,043

2,526

13,273

1965

14,8052,564

13,654

1966

16,2183,134

15,138

1967

16,763

3,364

15,211

1968

19,973

3,747

16,896

1969

20,0093,772

17,233

1970

19,207

3,97816,838

1971

26,783

4,149

19,271

1972

29,891

4,282

21,423

1973

35,254

5,116

24,392

1974

40,674

4,699

25,065

1975

46,643

6,054

30,864

1976

50,475

5,389

30,207

1977

56,467

6,983

33,144

1978

51,853

5,417

30,407

1979

41,481

4,368

25,332

1980

36,9604,100

23,816125

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)

Table 5 Annual Traffic Accident Injuries and Fatalities by Mode of Transport (1955-1960) [9]1955Type of Vehicle

Fatalities

1956
Injuries

Fatalities

1957
Injuries

Fatalities

Injuries

Motorcycle

26

381

17

338

20

282

Automobile

144

2,035

141

1,976

113

1,902

Bus

155

1,416

128

1,268

172

1,142

Truck

655

3,214

565

2,565

722

2,860

Small Truck

68

609

40

389

61

507

Minumus1958
Type of Vehicle

Fatalities

1959
Injuries

Fatalities

1960
Injuries

Fatalities

Injuries

Motorcycle

23

255

19

298

14

274

Automobile

141

1,601

157

1,908

188

1,794

Bus

137

1,147

175

1,390

239

1,383

Truck

656

2,233

713

2,714

800

2,888

Small Truck

72

554

69

542

119

886

MinibusAs seen in Table 2, vehicle ownership numbers increased four times between 1950 and 1960. This wasa result of (1) newly added motorways and (2) changes in transportation policies that caused adecrease in railroad use. Because the road network was used primarily for freight transport, trucks
numbered more than any other vehicle type. However, Table 4 shows that there was nearly no changes
in the number of road accidents, fatalities and injuries during these years. This indicates that newly
adopted traffic regulations and traffic police were efficient in keeping accident numbers approximately
the same. Considering vehicle properties and safety criteria in the automotive sector at that time, theincrease in the length of asphalt roads can be another reason for the similar numbers.
At first, Turkey experienced many problems in implementation the Road Traffic Act of 1953. Afterthe start of its country-wide implementation in 1958, each traffic organization sustained its own
development. The traffic system was improved in terms of vehicle registrations, driver’s licenses,
traffic signals, vehicle inspection stations, traffic police, tickets, insurances and vehicle taxes. The newtraffic system was first becoming similar to the system of develped countries in terms of bothorganizational and regulational aspects. However, the coordination between different trafficorganizations was not developing as expected, and this led to many problems. Hence, the issue oftraffic safety remained inefficient.
In 1961, Road Traffic Act was replaced by a new act—Act 232 which was designed to handle thedifficulties in applying the traffic law. With this change, police became authorized to issue tickets forcertain traffic violations. Furthermore, judicial responsibility for traffic offences was taken form

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drivers and given to the vehicle owners. Tractors now had to be registered, and the tractor drivers were
obliged to acquire a driver’s license.
In 1964 and 1967, two changes were added to the Road Traffic Act based on Acts 471 and 866.
Despite all these improvements, however, the problems related to the application of the act continued
to persist. The act was not sufficient to handle the expansion of road network, or to respond to theincreasing number of vehicle and road accidents. The act also proved ineffective in improving
coodination between the various traffic organizations. Between 1960 and 1980, the number of
automobiles increased from 46,000 to 742,000. And the rate of increase in the number of motocycles
was even greater. The number of fatalities was nearly 1,900 in the year 1960, and this number
gradually increased up to 7,000 in 1977.
The lack of a comprehensive traffic safety plan and proper consideration of traffic safety resulted in alarge increase in the number of road accidents. Improvements in geometrical and technical standardsof roads in 1970s could not compensate the rapid increase in the number of vehicle ownership. In
addition, speed limits were the same as the European countries but the geometry and superstructure ofroads were not suitable for those limits.

6. Transportation Policies (1980-2010)
The share of transportation investments in the total public investments was 20.5% in 1983 and it
gradually increased to 32.3% in 1988. This made up the largest portion of public investments. In 1988,
the transportation sector made up 9.1% of gross domestic product. At the 2nd Izmir Economy
Congress, representative of State Planning Organization

M. Barutçu, summarized the state’s

transportation policy as follows:“…In the field of transportation sector we must aim for (1) the lowest-cost transportation services, (2)fast transportation services,(3) safe transportation services,(4) the permenant improvement andcutting edge technology compatible with transportation services, (5) efficient, comfortable andsuitable transportation services. To reach these objectives, we will prepare the “Master Plan ofTransportation.” The way to have a consistent and progressive transportation policy is to havecomprehensive and reliable data and policies. We can only do this by preparing master plans forevery economic sector” [6].
During this period, Turkey put together the “1983-1993 Transportation Master Plan,” the goal ofwhich was obtaining a healty transportation structure. With regard to the question of how to enhance
the road system, they placed their main emphasis on “the improvement of life- and property-safety inareas of transportation.” The plan targeted a decrease in freight- and passanger-transportation ratio on
roads in order to effect a structural change in the transportation system. The table below illustrates the127Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)

targeted distributions of passenger and freight transport with respect to transportation types in 1980
and 1993.
Table 6 Distribution Targets of Passenger and Freight Transport
by Type of Transportation (1980-1993) [4]Type ofTransportation

Passenger Transport% 1980% 1993

Maritime
Rail
Road

1.18
4.12
93.96

1.08
4.08
94.06

Air

0.74

0.82

Freight Transport% 1980% 1993
15.87
32.16
10.41
27.45
72.26
36.06
0.1

0.2

As seen from Table 6, they envisaged no major change in passenger transport, and instead attempted
to transfer the freight transport load to maritime and rail transportation in order to achieve a balance
between the transportation types. They intended to revise the plan every three years. However, looking
at the final distribution figures, they were ultimately unable to meet their targets. This might show thatthe master plan was not implemented successfully.
The total length of railroads was 8,397 km in 1980, and it was only increased by 210 km when it
reached 8,607 km in 1997. The present railroad network is still not convenient for fast transportation,and the network is at the end of its economic life. Due to these facts, it is clear that the railroadtransportation is far behind the road transportation.
Table 7 The Distribution of Passenger and Freight Transport by Transportation Types [4]
Year
1960
1970
1980
1990
1997

Road
Passenger
37.8
60.9
73.5
81
92.6

Freight
72.9
91.4
94.8
94.6
94.8

Rail
Passenger
47.7
21.2
10.1
10
7.2

Freight
24.3
7.6
4.5
4.5
3.6

With regard to city roads, subway projects were implemented in big cities such as Ankara and Istanbul
for the purpose of decreasing the traffic loads on roads. However, public transportation projects suchas the Kızılay-Batıkent Subway in Ankara and the Aksaray-Yeniköy Subway in İstanbul were noteffectively meeting the needs of the population growth and, therefore, only the number of subway
users increased to problematic levels. The consequences of having an insufficient public transportation
system pushed people to buy private vehicles. This resulted in a rapid increase in the number of car
ownership and in traffic volumes on the city roads. Traffic congestion and increasing travel times alsobrougth about considerable energy losts [4].

128Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

Significantly, in 1980s and 1990s authorities began to acknowledge the importance to freeway
constructions. In 1999, the General Directorate of Highways owned 62,611 km of state roads andprovince roads, and 1,726 km of long freeways. Freeways in Ankara-Istanbul-Edirne, Aydın-Izmir,and Adana-Gaziantep were completed during this period [4].

7. Traffic Safety Policies and Traffic Regulations (1980-2010)
In 1981, Ministry of Internal Affairs started preparing a law draft of a new Road Traffic Act thatwould respond to the necessities of Turkey and be in accordance with other international laws. In
preparation of this law, the ministry made use of the regulations of foreign countries regarding
technical topics and common provisions. After a substantial study of the draft, it was passed into law
on October 13, 1983 under the name Road Traffic Act 2918. The authorities decided that some of theclauses would be activated after 20 months, so the full effectuation of policies of the law was on June
18, 1985.
With the passing of this law, a new organizing period was initiated in order to begin its
implementation. According to the 5th clause of the law, traffic organizations was established in centers,
regions, cities and counties. Furthermore, the law authorised traffic police the use of scientificmethods for evaluating traffic accidents. Another feature of this law was that it sent a message thatanyone who commits a traffic crime risks getting caught, thus increasing the perceived presence ofstate authority over the roads.
In addition, the law also gave the various ministries of public works, health, national education,transportation, agriculture and forestry the authorizations, duties and responsibilities of making roads
safer and improving technical services such as infrastructure services.
The main subjects that the Road Traffic Act (1983) stressed were listed as follows:•

The redetermination of authorities, duties and responsibilities of relevant organizations related tothe evaluation of traffic rules, human errors, vehicles and roads.

•

The establishment of traffic schools to educate driver candidates.

•

Embedding mandatory traffic courses in the curriculum of the primary schools and high schools.

•

Putting emphasis on the safety of students in traffic.

•

Authorization of traffic police to take the minutes according to the license plates of the vehicles
when the driver of the vehicle cannot be identified.

•

Improving the standards of vehicle inspections with more scientific methods.

•

Determining penalty points for every traffic crime. (It was decided that when a driver exceeds 100
penalty points, his driver’s license would be suspended for two months. )129

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

7.1 Main Arrangements in the Road Traffic Act (1983)(1) Alcohol Levels
It is stated both in the Road Traffic Act and the Road Traffic Regulation that drunk driving is to be
regarded as a traffic offence.
The prohibition of driving while under the influence of alcohol (measured by the amount in the blood)
falls under two cases:•

Public servants, taxi and jitney drivers, as well as drivers of minibuses, busses, trucks, carriers thattransport passengers and cargo are not allowed to drive with any quantity of alcohol in the blood.

•

All drivers other than those stated above cannot drive if the alcohol quantity in their blood exceeds
0.5 promils.

If a drunk driver is involved in a traffic accident, the alcohol quantity in his blood is determined andrecorded in the accident minutes by the police. If it is the driver’s first drunk driving offence, his
driver’s license will be confiscated for six months. If it is his/her second offence, it will be confiscatedfor two years. For third-time offenders, the period of suspension is five years. In addition, the driver
has to comply with the requirements such as tickets and mandatory traffic trainings. Psychiatrictreatment is required if it is the third traffic accident caused by drunk driving. In the cases of accidents
involving fatalities and injuries, they will be recorded as serious faults in their accident minutes.
The use of drugs or other pleasure-inducing substances is illegal in Turkey [5]. In addition to thepenalties given for the drug usage, if the police detect that a driver used drugs, the driver will be
subject to a minimum penalty of a six-months prison sentence, a nominal fine, and an indefinite
confiscation of the driver’s license.
(2) Speed Limits
The Road Traffic Act contains three clauses that concern speed limits on roads. Unless special
arrangements are stated, the speed limit on state roads and province roads is 90km/h. On freeways andin residential areas, the speed limits are 120km/h and 50km/h, respectively.

130

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Table 8 Speed Limits on Turkish Roads [10]Type of Vehicle

Residential areas

Automobile
Bus
Minibus, Truck,
Small Truck

50
50

Outside residential
areas
90
80

50

80

90

Motorcycle and Jeep

50

70

80

Vehicle Carrying
Hazardous Substances

30

50

60

Bicycle3050-

Tractor andHeavy Equipment

20

20

-

Freeways
120
100Special Cases on Speed Limits:•

If there is no force majeure, minimum speed limits are 15km/h on intercity roads and 40km/h
on freeways.

•

Vehicles carrying hazardous substances can move between the speed limits of their vehicle
types if they are unloaded.

•

The speed limit of truck trailers and wreckers is 15km/h when they are pulling vehicles thathave brake failures.

•

Ministry of Internal Affairs can increase the speed limits of automobiles on freeways by
20km/h by taking the view of Ministry of Public Works.

•

The penalty of exceeding the speed limits by an excess of between 10% and 30% was $74(140 Turkish Liras); for exceeding the speed limits by more than 30%, the fine was $153 (290TL) in 2010. If a driver exceeds the speed limits by 30% five times within a year, his/herdriver’s license will be suspended for one year.

(3) Seat Belt Usage and Security Systems
According to the Road Traffic Act, “certain drivers and passengers must use security systems on theroads.” The arrangements on the security systems are set out in the Road Traffic Regulation.
•

The drivers and passengers of motorcycles and motorized bicycles are required to wear helmets;
and the drivers of these vehicles are required to wear safety glasses.

•

Drivers and front-seat passengers of automobiles, buses, minibuses, trucks and small trucks are
required to wear seat belts. In 1995, a change in traffic regulation made it obligatory to installback-seat passenger seat belts for vehicles imported or produced in Turkey.

•

Sitting on the front seats of vehicles is forbidden for children under ten years old.

(4) Space Cushions
The Road Traffic Regulation determined “space cushions” as follows:131Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)•Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

Drivers must not drive too close to the vehicle immediately in front of them. The distance should
be at least half of their vehicle speed in km/h in terms of meters.

•

The “space cushion” should be equal to the distance that the trailing vehicle moves in two seconds.

•

The vehicles carrying hazardous substances have to maintain at least a 50m distance when
following another vehicle.

•

The drivers of the vehicles moving in a convoy should remain far enough away from the next car
to allow for passing vehicle to enter.

8. Road Traffic Accidents in Turkey (1980-2010)
Although the transportation sector offers alternative modes such as maritime, railway and airline, thechief mode of transportation in Turkey is road transportation (Table 6). The dominant role of roadtransport in passenger and cargo transportation and the low safety level of traffic environment (which
is not adequate to the road-dominated transportation system) cause a high frequency of traffic
accidents. Some of the main reasons behind these traffic accidents can be listed as following: the rapid
increase in the number of motorized vehicles, an insufficient road system, inadequate road safety
policies, reckless driving, and inadequate emergency services. Traffic accidents result in deaths,
injuries,disabled persons and enormous economical losses.

132

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)

Table 9 Number of Vehicles by Type (1980-2010) [8]

Year
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009

Car

Bus

Truck

Light
Commercial
vehicleMinibus,
Van

Motorcycle

776,432

33,839172,372

172,269

66,514

160,557

811,465

35,432

180,772

178,762

69,598

182,795

856,350

38,478190,277

186,427

73,585

217,327

919,577

43,638

197,721

198,106

80,697

256,338

983,444

47,119205,496

212,505

87,951

289,052

1,087,234

50,798217,111

224,755

97,917327,326

1,193,021

53,554

225,872

233,480

106,314369,894

1,310,257

56,172

234,166

240,718

112,885

420,889

1,434,830

58,859241,392

248,567

118,026

472,853

1,649,879

63,700257,353

263,407125,399

531,941

1,864,344

68,973

273,409280,891

133,632

590,488

2,181,388

75,592

287,160

308,180

145,312655,347

2,619,852

84,254

305,511354,290

159,900

743,320

2,861,640

87,545

313,771374,473

166,424

788,786

3,058,511

90,197

321,421397,743

173,051

819,9223,274,156

94,978333,269

442,788

182,694

854,150

3,570,105

101,896353,586

529,838

197,057

905,121

3,838,288

108,361

371,163

626,004

211,495

940,935

4,072,326

112,186

378,967

692,935

221,683

975,746

4,422,180

118,454394,283

794,459

235,885

1,011,284

4,534,803

119,306

396,493

833,175

239,381

1,031,221

4,600,140

120,097

399,025875,381

241,700

1,046,907

4,700,343

123,500

405,034

973,457

245,394

1,073,415

5,400,440

152,712

647,420

1,259,867

318,954

1,218,677

5,772,745

163,390

676,929

1,475,057

338,539

1,441,066

6,140,992

175,949

709,535

1,695,624

357,523

1,822,831

6,472,156

198,128

729,202

1,890,459

372,601

2,003,492

6,796,629

199,934

744,217

2,066,007

383,548

2,181,383

7,093,964

201,033

727,3022,204,951

384,053

2,303,261

133

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)

Year
1981

Table 10 Road Accidents, Fatalities and Injuries (1980-2010) [8]
Number of
Number of
Fatalities
Population
Driver’s
Accidents
Licenses
45,540,000
40,023
4,327

Injuries
27,711

1982

46,688,000

46,264

4,832

35,4891983

47,864,000

55,256

5,200

43,888

1984

49,070,000

60,705

5,684

49,234

1985

50,306,000

63,473

5,477

49,058

1986

51,433,000

92,468

7,278

71,445

1987

52,561,000

110,207

7,661

80,456

1988

53,715,000

107,651

6,848

79,243

1989

54,893,000

103,758

6,352

79,928

1990

56,098,000

115,295

6,317

87,668

1991

57,064,000

142,145

6,231

90,5201992

57,931,000

171,741

6,214

94,824

1993

58,812,000

208,823

6,457

104,330

1994

59,706,000

233,803

5,942

104,717

1995

60,614,000

279,663

6,004

114,319

1996

61,536,000

344,6435,428

104,599

1997

62,510,000

387,533

5,125

106,246

1998

63,451,000

440,149

4,935

114,552

1999

64,385,000

465,915

5,713

125,158

2000

65,311,000

500,664

5,510

136,751

2001

66,229,000

14,491,332

442,960

4,386

116,203

2002

67,140,000

14,994,960

439,777

4,093

116,412

2003

68,043,000

15,488,493

455,637

3,946

118,214

2004

68,938,000

16,151,623

537,352

4,427

136,437

2005

69,825,000

16,958,895

620,789

4,505

154,086

2006

70,703,000

17,586,179

728,755

4,633

169,0802007

70,586,256

18,422,958

528,561

5,007

189,057

2008

71,517,100

19,377,790

950,120

4,236

184,468

2009

72,561,312

20,460,739

1,053,346

4,324

201,380

2010

73,722,988

21,548,381

1,106,201

4,045

211,496

Table 10 shows the trends in the number of accidents, fatalities and injuries that occurred on roads in
Turkey between 1981 and 2010. The number of accidents has continued to increase each year,
culminating in 1,000,000 accidents in 2009. This increasing trend can be attributed to the rapid
increase in population and the high number of vehicles on the road in the last decade. Table 10 showsthat the number of persons killed in road accidents have been decreasing since 1988 and 1989, eventhough the numbers of accidents and persons injured have been increasing after a local decrease in1988 and 1989. This trend deviation is attributable to the construction of freeways and safer roadinfrastructures.

134

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)

Table 11 Annual Traffic Accident Injuries and Fatalities
by Mode of Transport (1990-1999) [11]Type of Vehicle

1990

1991

1992

Motorcycle
Automobile
Bus
Minibus
Truck

Fatalities
436
2,020
337
187
420

Injuries
8,747
33,034
5,357
5,455
4,758

Fatalities
468
2,184
324
230
368

Injuries.
9,525
35,327
5,600
5,728
5,326

Fatalities
507
2,115
529
241
445

Injuries
11,29137,671
5,986
5,969
5,538

Small Truck

104

2,960

144

3,080

104

3,177

Type of Vehicle
Motorcycle
Automobile
Bus
Minibus
Truck
Small Truck

Type of Vehicle
Motorcycle
Automobile
Bus
Minibus
Truck
Small Truck

Type of Vehicle
Motorcycle
Automobile
Bus
Minibus
Truck
Small Truck

1993
Fatalities
556
2,398
447
272
386
146

1994
Injuries
12,69744,570
6,024
6,278
5,559
3,906

1996
Fatalities
Injuries
139
4,074
1,568
22,785
389
2,996
113
2,725
302
4,424
127
2,474

Fatalities
405
2,379
316
205
430
152

1995
Injuries
10,40647,854
5,318
5,760
5,776
4,139

1997
Fatalities
Injuries
172
5,867
2,520
58,880
544
7,381
270
7,457
921
1,110
316
9,265

Fatalities
356
2,505
293
232
530
149

Injuries
10,70252,609
5,715
5,812
6,959
4,787

1998
Fatalities
Injuries327
12,191
3,342
9,3414720
12,277414
12,423
1,908
21,549602
17,585

1999
Fatalities
Injuries
141
7,778
1,208
40,876
191
3,168
135
3,810
514
5,995
272
8,952

In order to provide a safe traffic environment, various organizations responsible for traffic issues havemade considerable effort, and the media has offered its support in raising safety awareness among
drivers, pedestrians, passengers and institutions.
In December 2001, the Turkish government established the “National Traffic Safety Program for
Turkey“ to diminish the magnitude of the problem caused by traffic accidents. The objectives of thisprogram were as follows•

To increase enforcement on traffic safety with rules, legislations and regulations.

135

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir•To minimize losses and damages caused by traffic accidents.

•

To improve efficiency of transport infrastructure safety.

•

To raise road users’ awareness of and willingness to comply with the law.

•

To decrease traffic volume on roads by improving other alternative transportation
systems.

This safety program covered the period from 2002 to 2011, and established several mid-term and longterm strategies. The objectives of the mid-term strategies (2002-2006) were to reduce the number ofroad traffic fatalities by 20%, the number of accidents involving unprotected road users by 20%(passengers and cyclists), and the number of accidents involving children aged between 0-14 years by
25%. The long-term strategy has aimed to reduce road traffic fatalities by 40%, the number ofaccidents involving unprotected road users by 40%, and the number of accidents involving children
aged between 0-14 years by 50% [13].
Consequently, in recent years there has been a marked decline in traffic acciden; however, traffic
accidents still remain one of the most serious problems in Turkey.While the number of fatalities has
decreased, the number of injuries has continued to rise in past years. The above-mentioned
improvements have helped to decrease the severity of accidents, yet they have not yet eliminatedinjury risk. It seems that there is still a large potential for improving road safety in Turkey. To achievethis, it is necessary to understand the causes of the accidents and to adopt a methodical approach tofind remedial actions.
There are three categories of factors affecting accident occurrences: road environment, vehicles, androad users. These factors have a combined role in causing accidents, and it is necessary to evaluate all
three to understand the nature of accidents.
Table 12 Fault Distribution in Police Reports for the Road Traffic Accidents in Turkey [12]Accident Fault Distribution (%)
Year
DriverRoad
Vehicle Pedestrian Passenger
2000
96.06
0.77
0.52
2.40
0.25
2001
96.56
0.43
0.38
2.32
0.31
2002
96.82
0.25
0.31
2.39
0.23
2003
97.03
0.22
0.27
2.32
0.16
2004
97.30
0.19
0.22
2.18
0.11
2005
97.39
0.22
0.25
2.03
0.11
2006
98.07
0.13
0.10
1.61
0.09
2007
98.03
0.11
0.14
1.63
0.09
2008*
90.53
0.42
0.26
8.36
0.43
2009*
89.60
0.61
0.29
9.09
0.41
Average
95.74
0.34
0.27
3.43
0.22
* For fatal and injury accidents only

Table 12 shows the fault distributions (according to the police reports) for traffic accidents that
occurred between 2000 and 2009 in Turkey. According to this data, drivers are responsible for136

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

95.74% of all accidents, while the road environment and the vehicles are only responsible for 0.34%
and 0.27%, respectively. However, the problem is that the majority of the police officers do not havethe necessary education about highway design to come up with a sound judgment about the roaddeficiencies that lead to an accident. Moreover, current accident data forms include a detailed list ofdriver faults to help the officer decide, while there is little space on the form for road deficiencies.
(This is partly because the possible design problems that can cause an accident are innumerable.)Given the current state of the forms, it is much easier to blame drivers rather than conduct a thoroughinvestigation of road deficiencies. Hence, it is understandable that the police officers cite drivers as thesole cause for the majority of the accidents.
Unfortunately, however, merely faulting drivers as the primary cause of accidents will not lead to a
reduction in accidents. It should be taken into account that faulty road design is often the cause ofhuman error. The road environment and the vehicles must be designed, built and maintained to informthe road users in a way that minimize the possibility of human error. A well-designed road should
allow road users to accurately perceive the demands of the road environment and prevent crashes fromoccurring in the first place. If there is a failure in the road user’s ability to accurately perceive thisdemand, then the roadway should be “forgiving,” i.e. it should enable the road user to recover andcontinue, thereby changing the outcome of the event or minimizing the severity of the accident.
Roadsides designed according to these principles are called “forgiving roadsides” [14].
“Roadside design” is the design of the area between the outside shoulder edge and the right-of-way
limits. Considering the limited amount of infrastructure funds, one may question whether spending
resources on materials other than pavement is beneficial. Yet statistics show how important roadsidesafety in the reduction of accident severity [15].
Table 13 shows the number of accidents involving fatality and injuries by the accident types, as
occurred in 2009.

137

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)

Table 13 Number of Accidents in Turkey Involving Fatalities and Injuries
by Accident Type (2009) [12]Accidents Involving Accidents Involving
Fatality
InjuryType of Accident

1) Front collision
2) Rear-end collision
3) Side collision
4) Collision with stationary
vehicle5) Collision with fixed object
6) Hitting pedestrian7) Hitting animal8) Overturning9) Running off the road10) Passengers dropped from thevehicle11) Supplies dropped from thevehicleTotal(5+8+9) Roadside Accidents

NumberofAccidents
333
210
316

NumberofAccidents
14.33
5,556
9.04
9,564
13.60
28,540%

Total

NumberofAccidents
6.21
5,889
10.70
9,774
31.92
28,856

%

%
6.42
10.66
31.46

61
207
530
5
217
427

2.63
8.91
22.82
0.22
9.34
18.38

2,350
8,684
16,148312
6,798
11,090

2.63
9.71
18.06
0.35
7.60
12.40

2,411
8,891
16,678317
7,015
11,517

2.63
9.69
18.18
0.35
7.65
12.56

16

0.69

316

0.35

332

0.36

1
2,323
851

0.04
100
36.63

48
89,406
26,572

0.05
100
29.72

49
91,72927,423

0.05
100
29.90

Among the given eleven types of accidents in Table 13, three are associated with roadside safety. The
majority of accidents involving fixed object collisions, overturning and running off the road occur at
the roadside. According to the table, 29.9% of accidents involving fatlity and injury happen at theroadside. In other words, one in every three serious accidents ends up at the roadside. The table also
shows that 36.63% and 29.72% of the roadside accidents end up with fatality and injury, respectively.
These figures become even more striking when the data is categorized by the accident location, as it isdone in Table 14. The table shows that, in rural areas 60.57% of all the fatal and injury accidents areroadside accidents. Hence, for the rural roads, designing a safe roadside becomes much more
important than designing the road itself.

138

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)

Table 14 Number of Accidents in Turkey Involving Fatalities and Injuries by Accident Location and theAccident Type (2009) [12]RuralType of Accident

1) Front collision
2) Rear-end collision
3) Side collision
4) Collision with stationary vehicle5) Collision with fixed object
6) Hitting pedestrian7) Hitting animal8) Overturning9) Running off the road10) Passengers dropped from thevehicle11) Supplies dropped from the vehicle
Total(5+8+9) Roadside Accidents

NumberofAccidents
1,192
2,789
3,194
330
2,246
813
180
3,402
7,508
41
24
21,71913,156

Urban

5.49
12.84
14.71
1.52
10.34
3.74
0.83
15.66
34.57

NumberofAccidents
4,697
6,985
25,662
2,081
6,645
15,865
137
3,613
4,009

0.19
0,.11
100
60.57

291
25
70,01014,267

%

Total

6.71
9.98
36.65
2.97
9.49
22.66
0.20
5.16
5.73

NumberofAccidents
5,889
9,774
28,856
2,411
8,891
16,678317
7,015
11,517

6.42
10.66
31.46
2.63
9.69
18.18
0.35
7.65
12.56

0.42
0.04
100
20.38

332
49
91,72927,423

0.36
0.05
100
29.90

%

%

In Table 15, serious accidents in Turkey (2009) by the number of vehicles involved are presented.
The table shows that 47.55% of all serious accidents are single vehicle only. This value supports thepreviously stated assumption that the majority of fixed object collisions, overturning and running off
the road accidents happen at the roadside. Due to the nature of them, single vehicle accidents can only
end up with a roadside, pedestrian or animal collision. Subtracting the hitting pedestrian (18.18%)
and hitting animal (0.35%) accident ratios from the single vehicle only (47.55% ) accident ratio
gives 29,02% which is very close to the assumed roadside accident ratio of 29.9%. Therefore, it canbe said that that approximately 30% of all the serious accidents are single vehicle, running off the roadtype accidents. Roadside areas are often unsafe, with steep and high side slopes, stone or concrete
lined ditches, rock cuttings and hazardous objects (e.g., poles and trees) close to the roadway.
Guardrails are often missing. In many medians there are dangerous columns and no guardrails.
Deformable and energy absorbing supports are not used.

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

Table 15 Serious Accidents in Turkey by the Number of Vehicles Involved (2009) [12]Accidents Involving Accidents Involving
Total
Number of
Death
InjuryVehiclesNumber of
Number of
Number of
Involved%%%
Accidents
Accidents
Accidents
Single Vehicle
Two Vehicles
Multiple Vehicles
Total

1,347 57.99
837 36.03
139 5.98
2,323 100

42,266 47.27
41,839 46.80
5,301 5.93
89,406 100

43,613 47.55
42,676 46.52
5,440 5.93
91,729 100

It was suggested in the Road Improvement and Traffic Safety Project (Sweroad 2001) that roadsidedesign principles should be reconsidered and a new design code should be prepared. General
Directorate of Highways (KGM) prepared a new road design code that was mainly based on AASHTO(American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) manual of the US. Before the
new code, roadsides were designed and constructed according to the road design regulation preparedin 1965 and revised in 1997 [13]. The old code had insufficient emphasis on the roadside safety. Since
2002, Turkish roads have been designed according to the new code, and roadside improvements havebeen carried out by KGM.

9. Organizations Relevant to Traffic Safety in Turkey
Although different ministries and organizations share the responsibilities, in the present situation themain actors on the national level are:•

The General Directorate of Security, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs,•

The General Directorate of Highways under the Ministry of Public Works,•

81 Municipilities. Although there are some unions of municipilities, they are not acting as
representative bodies in the traffic safety area.

There are several voluntary organizations, but they are not represented by one single organization.
Some of them have the right to attend coordination councils.
The Ministry of Transportation has a very minor role in highway transportation and traffic safety.
Railway transportation is governed by the Ministry of Transportation, and it is also responsible forregulation of the transportation sector.
Turley has attempted to establish cooperation on a national scale through two safety councils
described below. On a provincial base, the province and town (sub-province) traffic commissions

140

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emirobtain coordination with one another. These councils and commissions have the rights to make traffic
regulation decisions.
The State Planning Organization, which is directly subordinated to the Prime Ministry, evaluates planand budget proposals. There are no mid- and long-term plans. There are short-term plans fortransportaion sectors. There is also a lack of plans for traffic safety.
The main roles and responsibilities of different ministries/organizations are summarized as follows.
(1) Ministry of Internal Affairs - General Directorate of Security and General Commandershipof Gendarmerie•

Law enforcement (traffic control and monitoring),•

Registration of the vehicles and issuing driving licenses,•

Taking necessary actions after traffic accidents in order to secure a safe area for other road users,
as well as reporting accidents,•

Reporting statistics about vehicle registrations, driving licenses and accidents,•

Public information.

(2) Ministry of Public Works - General Directorate of Highways•

Physical arrangements and signing for a safe road transportation,•

Decisions on the standards of signs ,•Roadside facilities (gasoline stations, accesses, lighting, etc.),•

Periodic vehicle inspections,•

Stationary and mobile weight controls.

(3) Ministry of National Education•

Regulation of driving license schools and performing tests (including issuing certificates).

•

Pre-school, primary school and high school as well as public traffic education and training(including coordination with other agencies).

•

Public information.

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

(4) Ministry of Health•Regulation and implementation and follow-up of first aid and emergency services, as well as
medical care and rehabilitation.

(5) Ministry of Industry and Commerce•

Vehicle type approvals.

(6) Ministry of Transportation•

Coordination of transportation by issuing regulations in the transportation sector.

(7) Ministry of Forestry•

Traffic regulation for forest roads.

(8) Ministry of State - General Directorate of Village Affairs•

Traffic regulations for village roads.

(9) Ministry of Justice•

Giving necessary help in revising the law.

(10) Municipalities•

Physical implementation and regulation of traffic safety measures on municipality roads.

10. Coordination(1) Supreme Highway Traffic Safety Council
Head: The Prime Minister.
Participants: Ministers of the following Ministries: Justice, Interior, Finance, National Education,
Public Works, Health, Transportation, Forestry, State (which holds General Directorate of Village
Affairs). Head Commander of Gendarmerie, Under Secretary of State Planning Organization, General
Directors of General Directorate of Security and General Directorate of Highways.
Meetings: Twice a year
Tasks and responsibilities: The issues are prepared by Traffic Services Department (General
Directorate of Security), approved by the Highway Traffic Safety Council, and later discussed in theHigh Council. The decisions (proposals) are followed and precautions for the coordination are takenby the Council in its implementation areas. Secretarial work of the Council is given by General142

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

Directorate of Security. Guidelines related to Council´s work are arranged by regulations prepared by
the Cabinet.

(2) Highway Traffic Safety Council
Head: The Director of the Traffic Services Department in General Directorate of Security.
Participants: Related Heads of Departments of the Ministries and Organizations stated above.
Representatives from:
Commandership of Gendarmerie, State Standardization Institution, Turkish Drivers and Automobiles
Association, Universities, Chamber of Engineers and Architects, Prevention of Traffic Accidents
Foundation, Aid for Traffic Accidents Foundation, Metropolitan Municipality of Ankara.
Meetings: Every monthTasks and responsibilities: Giving proposals to achieve coordination and to reduce accidents.
Finding deficiencies in the applications and the legislative deficiencies in traffic safety area.

(3) Municipal traffic units
UKOME (Transportation Coordination Centre)
Head: Mayor (Head of greater municipality).
Participants: General Directors or Directors of Municipal transportation/traffic units. General
Directors or Regional Directors of Organizations related with transportation/traffic.
Mayors of towns within the province border. The number of municipal representatives must notexceed the number of participants from other organizations.
Tasks and responsibilities:•

Follow and monitor fulfilment of the tasks given tomunicipalities by the traffic law and other tasks
related to urban transportation by the municipality law.

•

Monitor competition and balance among different urban transportation modes by arranging tariffs,
ticket prices, and so on.

•

Making decisions about the working conditions of the commercial vehicles in the province has tobe approved by Province Traffic Commissions.

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

(4) Province and Town (sub-provincial) Traffic Commissions
Head: Governor/Deputy governor/Head offcial of a district.
Participants: Representatives from Municipility, Security (police), KGM, Gendarmerie, Automobile
and Drivers Association, Other representatives from universities, etc., approved by the governor(maximum three persons).
Tasks and responsibilities:•

To take necessary precautions for achieving traffic regulation and safety in the district.

•

To make necessary decisions about upgrading of the infrastructure, and give proposals to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs.

•

To make decisions about the working conditions of the commercial vehicles in the province,
regardless of the regulations issued by the Ministry of Transportation.

•

To make decisions about parking areas.

(5) Foundations and Associations (Voluntary Organizations )•Turkish Automobiles and Drivers Association•

Automotive Industry Association•

Prevention of Traffic Accidents Foundation•

Aid for Traffic Accidents Foundation

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

References:
1. World Health Organization, 2009, Global Status Report on Road Safety, Geneva,
2. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Traffic Safety Data andAnalysis Group, 2010, IRTAD Road Safety 2010 Annual Report.
3. Directorate of Strategy Development, Branch Office of Transportation and Cost Studies, 2009,
Traffic and Transportation Data, Ankara.
4. Elmas, G.andB. Yıldızhan, 1999, Transportation Policies in Turkey and Economic Analysis ofTraffic Accidents, 2ndTransportation and Traffic Congress-Exhibition.
5. T.R. Ministry of Internal Affairs, Research and Investigations Center, Development of Traffic
Regulation in Turkey, Ankara.
6. Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, 2009, Necessity of Planning inTransportation and Traffic Policies-Chamber Report, Ankara.
7. C. Çelik, 2007, The Territorial Traffic Security In Turkey In The Process Of Adaptation To EU
Transmission Policy-MA Thesis, İstanbul.
8. Turkish Statistical Institute, 2010, Statistical Indicators 1923-2009, Ankara.
9. Ministry of Public Works, 1955-1960, Statistical Yearbook of Traffic Accidents, Ankara.
10. Road Traffic Regulation, 1997.
11. Turkish Statistical Institute and General Directorate of Security, 1990-1999, Statistical Yearbookof Road Traffic Accidents, Ankara.
12. Turkish Statistical Institute and General Directorate of Security, 2011, Statistical Yearbook ofRoad Traffic Accidents-2009, Ankara.
13. Ministry of Internal Affairs& Ministry of Public Works and Settlement & Ministry of National
Education& Ministry of Health & Gazi University & SweRoad, 2001,Road Improvement andTraffic Safety Project – Final Report, Ankara.
14. New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority, 2006, Road Environment Safety, New South
Wales.
15. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, 1996, Roadside Design
Guide, Washington, D.C.

General References:
16. Road Traffic Act, 1953.

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

17. Road Traffic Act, 1983.
18. Road Traffic Regulation, 1997.
19. SweRoad, 2001, National Traffic Safety Program for Turkey, Ankara.
http://www.kgm.gov.tr/SiteCollectionDocuments/KGMdocuments/Eng/Traffic/Executive.pdf

Websites of state organizations about Traffic and Traffic Safety•

Head of Traffic Services

www.trafik.gov.tr•

General Directorate of Highways

www.kgm.gov.tr•

General Directorate of Road Transportation www.kugm.gov.tr•

Head of Revenue Administration

http://www.gib.gov.tr/•

General Directorate of Meteorology

http://www.dmi.gov.tr/•

Ankara Security Directorate

http://www.ankara.pol.tr/2011_v1/•

Bayburt Security Directorate

http://www.bayburt.pol.tr/

Some of semiofficial websites•

Foundation of Turkish Drivers-Ankara

http://www.tsof.org.tr/•

Turkish National Committee of Roads

http://www.ytmk.org.tr/•

Traffic Insurance Information Center

http://www.tramer.org.tr/•

Vehicle Inspection Stations, Istanbul

http://www.tuvturk.com.tr/•

Chamber of drivers, Antalya

http://www.antalyasoforlerodasi.com.tr/

Websites of Some Turkish Universities•

Bogazici University:www.boun.edu.tr•

Istanbul Technical University:

www.itu.edu.tr•

Middle East Technical University:www.metu.edu.tr•

Koç University:

www.ku.edu.tr

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Turkey (1950-2010)Ilgin Gökaşar, Erhan Emir

Author:Ilgin Gökaşar
Assistant Professor,
Department of Civil Engineering,
Bogazici University, Turkey
Ilgın Gökaşar is an Assistant Professor and Vice Chair in the Civil Engineering Department at
Bogazici University. She has played an important role in the establishment of the Local Traffic
Control Center and Intelligent Transportation Laboratory, a collaborative effort between the
University and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Dr. Gökaşar received her MS degree and PhDfrom the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rutgers University, NJ, USA, and her
BS degree from the Civil Engineering Department at Bogazici University, Turkey. Her research is in
the areas of incident management and traffic safety, real-time traffic control, ramp metering,evacuation modeling, pre-trip information and social influences on mode choice, and economic
evaluations of intelligent transportation systems. She has many publications including journal articles,
conference papers, and technical reports. She is a technical reviewer for various journals and is
involved with many technical committees.
Co-author:
Erhan Emir
Graduate Student,
Department of Civil Engineering,
Bogazici University, Turkey
Erhan Emir is a graduate student in the Civil Engineering Department at Bogazici University. Mr.
Emir received his BS degree from the Civil Engineering Department at Bogazici University, Istanbul
Turkey. His research is in the areas of intelligent transportation systems, transportation planning, andevacuation modeling. He is a member of the Chamber of Turkish Civil Engineers.

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