Awareness campaign takes off to combat speeding

ISTANBUL

Turkish pilots have signed an important campaign to raise awareness about excessive speed and have filmed a public service ad warning about speed limits.

While it is known that the main cause of death in traffic accidents is excessive speed, the data of the General Directorate of Security showed that 44,633 people lost their lives and approximately 2 million people were injured as a result of traffic accidents between 2015-2021.

Within this scope, a meaningful campaign and public service announcement with the participation of the Turkish Air Force’s Aerobatic Team “Turkish Stars” was launched to raise awareness about the risks of excessive speeding and to draw attention to highway safety.

The campaign was also supported by the Interior Ministry and the National Defense Ministry.

In the public service announcement prepared as part of the campaign, Turkish Stars pilots, who have performed demonstration flights around the world with their NF-5 2000A/B aircraft that exceed the speed of sound by reaching a speed of 1,235.5 kilometers per hour, drew attention to the importance of obeying legal speed limits on the highway.

Yasemin Usta, founding president of My Rights in Traffic Association (Trafikte Haklarım Derneği), stated that the number of people who have died in traffic accidents in the last six years is more than the capacity of Beşiktaş Stadium, and the number of people who have become disabled as a result of accidents and who have suffered the pain of losing a loved one is unknown.

According to the data on the website of the General Directorate of Security, a 5 percent decrease in average speed in traffic reduces fatal accidents by 30 percent, while each 1 kilometer/hour increase in speed results in a 3 percent increase in accidents causing injury and a 4 to 5 percent increase in fatal accidents.