Experts advocate enhanced road safety measures amid accidents

ISTANBUL

In the aftermath of a series of road accidents over the past months that claimed numerous lives and left several injured, experts have urged precautions, emphasizing the importance of regulating the deactivation of speed limiters and implementing frequent tachograph checks.

On Dec. 28, 2023, 11 people were killed and 57 injured in a chain accident in the northwestern province of Sakarya. Meanwhile, nine people were killed and 30 injured in the accident that occurred on Jan. 16 in the southern province of Mersin.

Onur Orhon, president of the Association for the Prevention of Traffic Accidents drew attention to multiple precautions to prevent accidents, such as lowering the speed limit on highways, making authentic winter tires compulsory, performing tachograph checks, preventing the deactivation of the speed limiter devices of buses, periodically screening vehicle maintenance and driver health and ensuring that passengers do not remove their seat belts.

Mechanical engineer Alpay Lök pointed out that authentic winter tires could be distinguished with the "Snowflake in Three Peaks Mountain [3PSF]" logo.

"The speed of buses should be 100 kilometers per hour at most because when they reach 141 kilometers, their weight increases from 18 tons to 36 tons, so deaths and injuries increase many times over in case of collision or overturning," Lök said.

Stating that magnets are placed to tamper with tachographs of buses to underestimate the speed and cancel out speed limiters, Lök said, "The detection of tampering is considered a 'slight defect' in the vehicle inspection, meaning correction is not mandatory."

"We can tell whether the speed limiter has been disabled within a minute with the diagnostic device [OBD] at authorized services. In order to reduce deaths, the Industry and Trade Ministry needs to enact effective legislation," Lök added.