Drivers in Turkey involved in high number of accidents given special training

Fevzi Kızılkoyun – ISTANBUL

Some 200 out of 10,000 drivers involved in a higher than average number of traffic accidents last year have been identified and are undergoing a special training program.

As part of the project, overseen by the General Directorate of Security and Insurance Association of Turkey, drivers identified are probed in a bid to assess why the accidents occurred and examine the drivers’ psychological state.

The authorities will prepare a report following the training, creating a profile of the drivers and developing new measures to combat traffic accidents.

Previously, the authorities analyzed highways across Turkey and determined 1,892 key points where many accidents took place.

After measures were taken regarding these points a 43-percent decline in traffic accidents was observed in 2017.

In addition, a law signed by Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu in 2017 cancelled the right of way of all cars with flashing lights apart from police cars, while penal sanctions were imposed on cars non-compliantly using their flashing lights.

Meanwhile, a new policy document on traffic safety has been prepared in a bid to prevent traffic accidents, and some parts have already been put into practice. With the document, a 50 percent decline in deaths from traffic accidents is aimed for by 2020.

Last year, 3,530 people were killed in a total of 410,367 traffic accidents in Turkey.