Maximum highway speed limit to be revised

ANKARA

The government is planning to increase the highway speed limit from 120 kilometers per hour (kph) to 140 kph, Interior Ministry Süleyman Soylu has said, noting that the new speed limit may come into effect in July.

“I have discussed the matter with the transport and infrastructure minister. Officials from the ministry said the country’s highways are up to the standards for higher speed limits. We intend to complete works for this by July,” Soylu said in an interview with private broadcaster TGRT Haber on May 5.

He added that initial work for higher speed limits has already begun on the North Marmara Highway.

When the limits are revised, motorists will be allowed to drive at a speed of up to 154 kph on highways, but there will be fines for exceeding the limit, the minister stated.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan already approved plans to increase the speed limits, Soylu said, noting that the Interior Ministry is authorized to lift the limits by 20 percent.

Soylu recalled 7,530 people were killed in road accidents in 2015 but that the number of casualties in such accidents declined to 7,477 in 2017 and further dropped to 5,362 people last year.

Around 22 percent of those who were killed in road accidents were pedestrians, Soylu said, adding that the ministry is focused on regulating traffic to protect pedestrians.

In 2022, already 99 pedestrians have lost their lives, and 47 of them were killed because they did not use crosswalks, the minister said.