Government works on tougher sanctions for drunk drivers

ANKARA

DHA Photo

The government will toughen measures against drunk driving, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, describing drunk drivers as armed monsters.

“Article 58 of the Constitution stipulates the state should take the necessary measures to this end. But former governments did nothing on this issue. When we talk about it, we are criticized for introducing our religiousness. Is making a reference to the good nature of religion bad?” Erdoğan said at a conference on traffic safety.

“We are going to take the right steps to this end,” he said, suggesting that more precautions against drunk driving would be taken.

Traffic terror is causing more casualties than separatist terrorism as the government is fighting against both types of terror, he said. “Both fights require multidimensional work. Coordination among the state institutions is a must,” he said.

“Ten years ago when there were 8 million cars, the death toll in accidents was nearly 5,000. Now, although there are 17 million vehicles, this number has decreased to 3,757. This sharp decrease is a result of our intensive work to make transportation safer,” he added.