T.C. İÇİŞLERİ BAKANLIĞI
WEB SİTESİ GİZLİLİK VE ÇEREZ POLİTİKASI
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Kanunun ilgili kişinin haklarını düzenleyen 11 inci maddesi kapsamındaki talepleri, Politika’da düzenlendiği şekilde, ayrıntısını Bakanlığımıza ileterek yapabilir. Talebin niteliğine göre en kısa sürede ve en geç otuz gün içinde başvuruları ücretsiz olarak sonuçlandırılır; ancak işlemin ayrıca bir maliyet gerektirmesi halinde Kişisel Verileri Koruma Kurulu tarafından belirlenecek tarifeye göre ücret talep edilebilir.
Millions of people use the roads of Turkey for various purposes such as business, visits, and tourism every day. Highways, state roads, provincial roads, boulevards, avenues, streets, squares, bus lanes, walking trails, and bicycle paths constitute the backbone of our transportation system and increase the mobility of people in road transport.
Turkey, while described as the “passageway country” in the East-West axis until very recently, has reached the condition of “being the most critical intersection, where three continents merge”, in which North-South axes are also located today. Therefore, it has become necessary to redefine the transportation infrastructure of Turkey in a way to also address the North-South axes as well as East-West. 2
According to the latest estimations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (WB/B IHME), each year 1.350.000 people lose their lives, and 78 million people get injured in a way to be exposed to long-term disabilities in traffic accidentsr. This is a loss that traffic accidents cause directly. In the meantime, there is also loss of lives that are stemming from the air pollution caused by carbon-based motor transportation or ones that are not directly associated with motor transportation, which means that there is 200.000 more losses of life to be added to the 1.350.000 losses of life annually. Considering the size and seriousness of the problem of road safety problem, everyone is on the same page that we need to act urgently.3
More than 1.200.000 traffic accidents took place in Turkey in 2018 and consequently, 6.675 people lost their lives and 307.000 people were injured. Accordingly, approximately 3.350 accidents per day, 140 accidents per hour, and 2.5 accidents per minute happen in Turkey.
The cost of the aforementioned loss of life, injury, and accidents for the national economy is around TRY 66 billion , which constitutes 1.8% of Gross National Product (GNP).
We know that we can do better than the existing situation and prevent the negative consequences of traffic accidents. Thus, we need to turn our road transportation system into one which our citizens can use without hesitation and getting harmed, and contentedly and comfortably.
Placing traffic safety at the centre of decisions to be made in the field of transportation comes to the fore as the key to make use of the opportunities for shaping the cities and roads and for connecting cities to one another to offer different transportation alternatives to all people using the roads of Turkey.
This Strategy Paper draws a picture of how we will build the safest roads possible, which vehicles we expect to travel on these roads, our expectations from the road users, and how we imagine Turkey to be in the coming decade. Guiding principles, core values, long-term strategic objectives, and the interventions to be made to achieve these objectives as well as the traffic safety approach were included in the paper, and the future expectations in traffic safety were also addressed based on the current situation.
Turkey is a country that is aware of the challenges faced in road safety and gives political support at the highest level for the efforts made to increase road safety. Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan (2011-2020) was put into practice in 2011 as part of the UN 10-Year Action Plan (2011-2020). Furthermore, the Road Traffic Safety Implementation Policy was put into effect in by the Ministry of Interior in 2017 complementary to the Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan, and the objective and approa eral of Police on their new
control strategy was explained in detail with the policy paper.
Ensuring safety in traffic provides essential contributions not only in the context of the safety of life and property of people but also in many fields such as ensuring the continuity of economy, establishing and strengthening socio-cultural relations and bonds, and urbanization and the establishment of a common life culture.
In our day and time, the urbanization rate rapidly increases in developing countries. 66% of the world population is envisaged to live in cities by 2050 according to the World Urbanization Prospects Report published by the United Nations, and the reports of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure estimate that the transportation demands in Turkey will quadruple by 2050.
Systematic traffic safety efforts were started in Turkey in 1953 with the Law on Road Traffic No. 6085, and the legal basis of the road traffic system currently conducted was formed with the Law on Highways Traffic No. 2918 approved and published in 1983 in line with the changing and developing conditions. In time, the transportation legislation was revised and the relevant regulations on traffic were enriched with other sub-regulatory procedures.
Turkey, being an active member of traffic safety efforts in the international arena, has made constructive contributions to the 2009 Moscow Declaration, 2015 Brazil Declaration, and 2020 Stockholm Declaration.
Within the frame of the recommendations of the United Nations General Assembly, the “Road Traffic Safety Strategy Paper and Action Plan” was prepared in 2011 and with the issuance of the Circular of the Prime Ministry No 2021/16, actions were taken in line with the Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan to decrease loss of lives by 50% between the years 2011-2020.
Accordingly, the “Traffic Safety Implementation Policy Paper” was put into practice by the Ministry of Interior by developing a new system approach on what to do in the short-term to avert loss of lives, injuries, and socio-economic losses. With the new, result-oriented strategic objectives set, awareness-raising activities were carried out by making use of several campaigns in the short and long term to ensure traffic safety, projected training activities, effective, consistent, and intensive traffic controls, and social and national media.
In this regard, the traffic police were supported with staffing and quality, the uniforms of the traffic police were redesigned and made more modern and visible, and motorcycles, equipment, tools, and materials were procured according to the needs of the traffic units and necessities of the time to ensure efficiency in traffic safety.
Within the scope of the aforementioned Strategy Paper, Action Plan, and Implementation Policy Paper; the controls conducted to ensure traffic safety are individually planned according to seasonal conditions, accidents intense locations, and time, visibility is elevated to the highest level and the “Perceived Risk of Being Caught” is kept alive in these controls.
The control activities for preventing traffic violations such as not wearing a seatbelt, talking on the phone while driving, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and especially excessive speeding are conducted non-stop. In the meantime, efforts such as;
To increase traffic safety awareness, the road users defined as drivers, passengers, and pedestrians:
Moreover, in-service trainings and safe driving techniques trainings continue year round to enhance the quality of traffic police.
Campaigns named “I’m a Traffic Police, too”, “Red Whistle for a Violating Driver”, “We are All Together on the Road”, and “Let Your Seatbelt Influence Others” that are met with acclaim in all segments of the society are continued. Besides these, a dramatic decrease of 22% was observed in the loss of life of pedestrians identified as vulnerable thanks to the actions started with the Pedestrian-Priority Traffic Safety Campaign in 2019 with the motto “life is our priority, the way belongs to the pedestrian”. Within this scope, visual improvements were made on the pedestrian crossings across Turkey.
Works to prepare the 2021-2030 Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan were initiated to improve the positive impetus achieved with the intensive controls, training, campaigns and awareness-raising activities in the long run against the constant increase of the number of vehicles and drivers and traffic mobility; and in improving traffic safety with the Safe System Approach, which is based on making up for human error by accepting that every human being is capable of making mistakes, the responsibility was not left to just one institution. In preventing serious loss of life and injuries in traffic, a new strategy and action plan based on the “safe system approach”, which identifies that road users may make mistakes and considers road safety to be the joint responsibility of all actors in the road safety system was developed for the 2021-2030 period, focusing on matters such as;
Safe roads are of critical importance for the safety, welfare, and economic development of Turkey.
The infrastructure underlying the mobility of people is determined by our road network system. The road network and the rules and procedures of this network are the key determinants in shaping the people, families, different regions, cultures, and economic relations. Transportation activities have a crucial catalysing impact on bringing the production resources together with the labour force, the access of products to the markets, in sum, the supply meeting the demand. As such, the developments that affect the road infrastructure and transport sector worldwide are as follows:4
It is of great importance that all these tendencies are evaluated together and a complementary traffic safety strategy is determined.
Transportation is one of the indispensable elements of urban life. Increasing traffic safety makes our cities accessible and habitable as well as connecting cities and enables people living in that city to feel safe while walking or cycling and allow their children walk to school and back by themselves thanks to the safety the road system provides. Some research results reveal that children walking to school have the capacity to think more independently and flexibly in their later years in terms of their psychological development. Pedestrian or cycling mobility brings forth a healthier lifestyle, is perceived favourably in terms of physical and mental health, and helps decrease the pressure on health system in the advanced ages.
Taking into account the fact that human life, health, and safety are more important than anything today; productive, effective, and sustainable transport policies that are humane, safe, comfortable, fast, environmentally friendly, not causing external dependence and waste of energy, enabling integrated operation of multiple transport modalitiess5 (alternatives) in a way to serve the social and economic development of the country, and minimizing the damage on the environment are developed.
In relation with traffic safety, the transport sector is on the top items of the world agenda due to the problems such as traffic congestion, traffic accidents, fuel consumption, noise, air pollution and other environmental problems, and forms the basis for intensive efforts towards “establishing sustainable transport policies”.6
Increasing traffic safety supports environmental sustainability as well. Preferring mobility as pedestrians and riders contribute to the decrease in emissions and enhancement of air quality. Economic development is supported thanks to roads designed pertinent to traffic safety principles, and the loss of life due to accidents and indirect costs such as deterioration and delay due to traffic congestion decrease.
The mortality rate per 100.000 people is 18.3 in low-income countries, while it is 11.8 in high-income countries.
The cost of traffic accidents corresponds to approximately 3% of national income. The highest rate is observed amongst African countries, and the fatality rate per 100.000 people reaches up to 29.3, while it is 23.6 in middle-income countries.7
The fatality rate per 100.000 people was 4.9 in EU countries in 2018. The mortality rate per 100.000 was decreased to 6.6 in Turkey by the end of 2019.
Besides traffic accidents which are the most prominent factor threatening traffic safety, there are also environmental impacts caused by motor vehicles such as air pollution resulting from exhaust emissions, fuel-oil vapour, lead compounds, asbestos and tire dusts, and gas, liquid, and solid wastes originating from erosion, rusting, and corrosion as well as noise.
Mass use of motor vehicles causes traffic congestion as well as air pollution. In residential areas, alleys designed in a way to allow local traffic may become the centre of traffic problems as a result of overloading stemming from a recently opened commercial centre or social place. Traffic congestion cause a significant decrease in the flow speeds and operational capacity of the road and bring serious socio-economic losses. Traffic congestion cost consists of the sum of vehicle operating costs and environmental impact costs.
Cognitive and behavioural developmental deficiencies which damage child health and decrease learning abilities and the potential to contribute to society are amongst the most significant health problems arising from the toxic gases in the air.
When considering both the large number of vehicles involved in traffic accidents and the production process and life-cycles, even without the inclusion of petroleum products this list implicates that 60% of natural rubber, 20% of steel production, and 10% of aluminium in the world is used in automobile production. Cars cause 125% more air pollution when compared to buses per passengers carried per km, and its investment cost is 1600% more compared to the bus, and 400% more compared to the subway.
When examining the energy consumption of transportation vehicles per passenger/km, cars consume 500% more energy compared to the subway and buses and carries 300% fewer passengers than minibuses and 1300% less than buses. Besides that, 18 bicycles can be parked in a spot where one car parks and 30 bicycles can move in the movement area of only one car. While we need two lanes to cross 40.000 people over a bridge in an hour, we need twelve lanes to do this with cars. As can seen, cars constitute an inefficient and problematic transportation vehicle in all areas ranging from the number of passengers carried, energy consumption, investment-operation cost, and air pollution when compared with other types of transportation.8
Among many side effects caused by traffic, aspects which have an impact on our social life are also impossible to overlook. In a manner of speaking, traffic, locks people within their houses due to the noise it causes on crowded avenues and the risk and pollution it creates. Increasing traffic has an impact on the pollution of cities, causes an increase in the noise levels, a decrease of green areas, and gives way to the emergence of material and immaterial losses due to traffic accidents.
The Turkish Government continues its investments and efforts to develop a balanced transportation system in many fields remaining outside of the scope of this raod safety strategy paper. Increasing the number of public transport alternatives, strengthening railway and urban rail transport, and the construction of walkways and bicycle lanes are the most important ones of these efforts. Along with the other measures taken, it is certain that crucial improvements will be made during the implementation process of this strategy paper.
Losses of life due to traffic accidents holds its position in the agenda despite the great distance covered with the implementation of the Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan published in 2012 and the Traffic Safety Implementation Policy Paper adopted in 2017.
While acknowledging that what underlies this increase is the increase of the number of vehicles and drivers and of the demand for road transport, it is clear that there are still many steps which need to be taken.
Looking at the factors driving traffic accidents within the ten year period from 2010 to 2019, it is observed that in the occurrence of traffic accidents resulting in death and injury, the share of driver errors is 89.2%, pedestrian errors is 8.8%, passenger errors is 0.6% and road structure and vehicle error is 0.7%.
When examining the rate of errors in traffic accidents, it can be seen that human error has a very high share. Although a minor decrease has happened over the years, driver errors constituted 88.1% of errors causing traffic accidents in 2019.
The second aim is to prevent the loss of life of people and take measures to rectify the errors caused by humans. Investments made in the roads both achieve economic savings and protect human life.
Along with the improvement of economy and prosperity in Turkey, in the recent years the traffic volume has reached unignorable levels along with the increase in the number of vehicles.
The traffic density (vehicle/km) saw an increase by 2.5 between the years 2003-2017. When taking into consideration the increase in the traffic mobility on the road network under the responsibility of the Directorate General of Highways between the years 2003-2017, a 68% decrease occurred in the number of persons losing their lives in traffic accidents (according to loss of life on site of accident). One of the main reasons for this decrease is the divided road constructions.
Divided roads have enabled the safety of life and economical transportation by reducing traffic accidents. Along with the increase in the number of divided roads, head-on collisions which bear the highest severity of accident and where the highest number of loss of life occur decreased.
With the construction of divided roads, traffic violations such as passing errors made by drivers were eliminated, and the travel comfort in roads was increased by ensuring continuity and relief in travel speed.9
The social cost of traffic accidents is not limited to the expenses the accidents burden on individuals; it is the total cost incurred by the society due to accidents including indirect expenses such as the additional burden on the health care system primarily due to traffic accidents, and road blocks and traffic congestion resulting from traffic accidents.
The ultimate goal of all efforts made to ensure traffic safety is to eliminate or at least decrease the “social costs” to arise inevitably due to the failure to ensure traffic safety.
If real strategies and policies based on data and analyses are developed and put into practice, there will be progress and improvements on performance indicators in the first stage, and then there will be a decrease in the number of casualties and injuries.
In case the policies and strategies are implemented persistently, the social costs at the top of the pyramid below will be eliminated.
The cost of traffic accidents corresponds to
approximately 3% of national income. The highest rate is observed amongst African countries, and the fatality rate per 100.000 people reaches up to 29.3, while it is 23.6 in middle-income countries.7
The fatality rate per 100.000 people was
4.9 in EU countries in 2018. The mortality rate per
100.000 was decreased to 6.6 in Turkey by the end of 2019.
Besides traffic accidents which are the most prominent factor threatening traffic safety, there are also environmental impacts caused by motor vehicles such as air pollution resulting from exhaust emissions, fuel-oil vapour, lead compounds, asbestos and tire dusts, and gas, liquid, and solid wastes originating from erosion, rusting, and corrosion as well as noise.
Mass use of motor vehicles causes traffic congestion as well as air pollution. In residential areas, alleys designed in a way to allow local traffic may become the centre of traffic problems as a result of overloading stemming from a recently opened commercial centre or social place. Traffic congestion cause a significant decrease in the flow speeds and operational capacity of the road and bring serious socio-economic losses. Traffic congestion cost consists of the sum of vehicle operating costs and environmental impact costs.
Cognitive and behavioural developmental deficiencies which damage child health and decrease learning abilities and the potential to contribute to society are amongst the most significant health problems arising from the toxic gases in the air.
When considering both the large number of vehicles involved in traffic accidents and the production process and life-cycles, even without the inclusion of petroleum products this list implicates that 60% of natural rubber, 20% of steel production, and 10% of aluminium in the world is used in automobile production. Cars cause 125% more air
pollution when compared to buses per passengers carried per km, and its investment cost is 1600% more compared to the bus, and 400% more compared to the subway.
When examining the energy consumption of transportation vehicles per passenger/km, cars consume 500% more energy compared to the subway and buses and carries 300% fewer passengers than minibuses and 1300% less than buses. Besides that, 18 bicycles can be parked in a spot where one car parks and 30 bicycles can move in the movement area of only one car. While we need two lanes to cross 40.000 people over a bridge in an hour, we need twelve lanes to do this with cars. As can seen, cars constitute an inefficient and problematic transportation vehicle in all areas ranging from the number of passengers carried, energy consumption, investment-operation cost, and air pollution when compared with other types of transportation.8
Among many side effects caused by traffic, aspects which have an impact on our social life are also impossible to overlook. In a manner of speaking, traffic, locks people within their houses due to the noise it causes on crowded avenues and the risk and pollution it creates. Increasing traffic has an impact on the pollution of cities, causes an increase in the noise levels, a decrease of green areas, and gives way to the emergence of material and immaterial losses due to traffic accidents.
The Turkish Government continues its investments and efforts to develop a balanced transportation system in many fields remaining outside of the scope of this raod safety strategy paper. Increasing the number of public transport alternatives, strengthening railway and urban rail transport, and the construction of walkways and bicycle lanes are the most important ones of these efforts. Along with the other measures taken, it is certain that crucial improvements will be made during process of this strategy paper.
Losses of life due to traffic accidents holds its position in the agenda despite the great distance covered with the implementation of the Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan published in 2012 and the Traffic Safety Implementation Policy Paper adopted in 2017. While acknowledging that what underlies this increase is the increase of the number of vehicles and drivers and of the demand for road transport, it is clear that there are still many steps which need to be taken.
DRIVER- PASSENGER - PEDESTRIAN - ROAD - VEHICLE
Graph: Rate of Error of Drivers, Passengers, Pedestrians, Roads, and Vehicles Causing Traffic Accidents
between 2010-2019.
Looking at the factors driving traffic accidents within the ten year period from 2010 to 2019, it is observed that in the occurrence of traffic accidents resulting in death and injury, the share of driver errors is 89.2%, pedestrian errors is 8.8%, passenger errors is 0.6% and road structure and vehicle error is 0.7%. When examining the rate of errors in traffic accidents, it can be seen that human error has a very high share. Although a minor decrease has happened over the years, driver errors constituted 88.1% of errors causing traffic accidents in 2019.
Graph: Elements Causing Accident (2019)
According to the studies conducted, at least half of the persons injured and harmed in traffic accidents
hasn’t contributed to any mistake or error causing the accident; in other words, they were harmed as a result of the mistakes of others. Here, one of the fundamental points where the system needs to be strengthened is revealed; the road system should be desi to prevent other people from getting harmed because of human error or fault.
The second aim is to prevent the loss of life of people and take measures to rectify the errors caused by humans. Investments made in the roads both achieve economic savings and protect human life.
Along with the improvement of economy and prosperity in Turkey, in the recent years the traffic volume has reached unignorable levels along with the increase in the number of vehicles.
The traffic density (vehicle/km) saw an increase by 2.5 between the years 2003-2017. When taking into consideration the increase in the traffic mobility on the road network under the responsibility of the Directorate General of Highways between the years 2003-2017, a 68% decrease occurred in the number of persons losing their lives in traffic accidents (according to loss of life on site of accident). One of the main reasons for this decrease is the divided road constructions.
Divided roads have enabled the safety of life and economical transportation by reducing traffic accidents. Along with the increase in the number of divided roads, head-on collisions which bear the highest severity of accident and where the highest number of loss of life occur decreased.
With the construction of divided roads, traffic violations such as passing errors made by drivers were eliminated, and the travel comfort in roads was increased by ensuring continuity and relief in travel speed.
The social cost of traffic accidents is not limited to the expenses the accidents burden on individuals; it is the total cost incurred by the society due to accidents including indirect expenses such as the additional burden on the health care system primarily due to traffic accidents, and road blocks and traffic congestion resulting from traffic accidents.
The ultimate goal of all efforts made to ensure traffic safety is to eliminate or at least decrease the “social costs” to arise inevitably due to the failure to ensure traffic safety.
If real strategies and policies based on data and analyses are developed and put into practice, there will be progress and improvements on performance indicators in the first stage, and then there will be a decrease in the number of casualties and injuries.
In case the policies and strategies are implemented persistently, the social costs at the top of the pyramid below will be eliminated
Figure: Traffic safety objectives hierarchy.
Accepting that traffic accidents bear social, economic, and moral impacts on individuals, families, relatives, friends, social environment and the entire society beyond the sheer number of deaths and injuries, it is considered that ensuring traffic safety has, in fact, positive impacts in a broader sense than what is thought.
Prevention of traffic accidents with unilateral efforts is not possible. Within the frame of this approach, a serious decrease was achieved in loss of lives resulting from traffic accidents with effective, appropriate, and intensive controls conducted as part of the Traffic Safety Implementation Policy Paper published in 2017, and major progress was made in terms of achieving the objective to decrease the loss of life resulting from traffic accidents by 50% in 2020.
The following graph shows the progress made between the years 2015 and 2019:
Table: Losses of Life in Traffic Accidents (2015-2019).
2019 yılında 2015 yılına göre 2.057 daha az can kaybı yaşanmıştır.
Grafik: Trafik Kazası Can Kaybı (2015-2019)
There is a need for a safe system that acknowledges the inevitability of accidents but accepts that death and injuries resulting from accidents can be prevented.
Classical traffic safety approaches identify accidents as the basis of safety problems. As a result of this approach, the road users described as “bad drivers, “Reckless cyclists”, or “Non-observant pedestrians” are considered to be the root cause of this problem.
Nevertheless, 30% of serious traffic accidents happen as a result of serious traffic violations or risky behaviours, and a large part of the traffic accidents originate from small mistakes, detection errors, or rule violations.13
Asking “Why did they die as a result of a traffic accident?” rather than “Why did they have an accident?” will help to reach the solution better.
With this approach, we need change the system by taking into account the facts that road users may occasionally make mistakes, that such mistakes need to be compensated and that no human error should result in death.It is necessary to detect and eliminate risky behaviours along with developing the knowledge and capacities of road users in this approach.
Furthermore, we also need to eliminate the problems in our current transport system by improving our road network system, preventing the behaviour of speeding in a way that is not safe or suitable, and improving the safety standards of currently used vehicles.
There is a possibility to raise the bar further with more systematic, rational, and diligent efforts.
Safe System Approach ranks the first the as “golden standard” amongst traffic safety approaches. The combined implementation of approaches predicting accident reducing objectives such as “Vision Zero” as well as safe system approaches will also increase the level of success.
Based upon the experiences gained in the past, it is possible to decrease traffic accident deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030 and achieving the objective to eliminate all traffic accident deaths and injuries in Turkey by 2050 with the safe system approach in the new strategic planning.
In the long running efforts made to ensure traffic safety and prevent loss of life and property on the roads, various policies and strategies have been developed by many institutions and organizations, especially international organizations, for the solution of the problem.
The strategies aiming at ensuring traffic safety must have some internationally accepted key elements. Strategy papers are built on this underlying structure. 14
In traffic safety strategies;
The “Problem” should be identified at the outset. In general, the problem area is defined as traffic accidents and the negative situation arising as a result of these accidents and is analysed through the examination of important elements affecting the statistical data on accidents and traffic safety situation to a great extent. The problem comprises an important and essential basis for the Strategy and Plan.
A “Vision” should be defined in traffic safety papers. The final and ideal situation desired to be attained in long-term is put forth with the vision. A vision statement provides an important basis for the strategy paper and is essential to ensure that the politicians, media, and public show more interest in traffic safety.
One of the essential chapters to be included in the paper is the “Strategy” chapter, where one specifies the steps and methods to be followed to attain what was identified in the vision. This chapter indicates the long-term overall goals and objectives. It also suggests which strategic steps need to be taken to achieve these objectives effectively.
The “Plan” chapter includes short and medium-term objectives. It also proposes the necessary strategic steps to take to achieve these objectives effectively. Attentive preparation of the plan and reaching a consensus thereon are of vital importance for success.
Among the important sections of a well-prepared traffic safety strategy paper in addition to the chapters specified above are the “Authorities, Roles, and Responsibilities”, “Monitoring and Evaluation”, and the “Duration” chapter indicating in which time interval the strategy paper will be implemented, and in addition the “Amendments” chapter showing how the amendments will be made in necessary cases encountered during implementation.
While preparing national traffic safety policies, one should consider that environmental conditions will change in time and accordingly plan on an average of 5 years, and determine which activities will be conducted at the country level and geographical areas.
It is recommended that the following chapters are included in the strategy paper with clear, realistic and measurable goals, expected to be put into effect depending on a budget;15
Within this framework, the areas to develop a strategy in to ensure sustainable traffic safety on the roads are addressed under three main headings:16
1.Strategies for Motor Vehicles:
2.Strategies for Highway Structure:
3.Strategies for the Human Factor:
i. Changing the preferred mode of transportation (transit, walking, cycling, substituting rail transport with road transport)
ii. Changing the communication methods in fields placing a burden on traffic (as is done in courier transport and virtual shopping applications, resolving activities that increase traffic density of people with methods that don’t cause any traffic density),
i. Complicating physical examination with further details,
ii. Unexceptional and intensive application of traffic rules, increasing the amount of and intensifying administrative sanctions,
iii. Decreasing of the desirability of vehicle use in traffic with taxing methods.
Aforementioned methods represent the strategies followed to serve the objective of ensuring traffic safety and decreasing traffic density especially by reducing “private car user numbers” in traffic.
The material outcome of ensuring traffic safety is the prevention of traffic accidents.
Traffic safety strategies should be developed on the principal idea that traffic accidents are predictable and preventable, and it is possible to generate solutions for traffic accidents with rationalistic analyses.
In this respect;
Figure: Traffic Safety Chronology in the World and Turkey.
On the World Health Day 2004, the “World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention”18, published by the World Health Organization and the World Bank, underlined the role of multisector approach in the prevention of road traffic accidents. The report discusses the basic needs in the prevention of accidents, the size and impact of traffic accidents, main preventive efforts, and the effective intervention strategies along with risk factors.
The “World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention” dated 2004, has the characteristics of a technical paper including suggestions on what countries can do, and a lot of important strategic steps have been taken by the United Nations following this report;
i. The First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety: “It is Time to Take Action” Moscow Declaration (Moscow, 19-20 November 2009)
The first qualified initiative on decreasing the loss of life and property in road traffic accidents came to the fore in the conference named “The First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety: It is Time to Take Action”19 hosted by the Russian Federation between the dates 19-20 November 2009. The “Moscow Declaration”20 signed by the ministers and senior officers of 150 countries emphasized the protection of all road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcycle riders with the highest potential to be injured.
The Moscow Declaration can be considered as a presentation of the situation put forth with the reports prepared by international organizations, especially the UN, WHO, UNICEF and OECD until that date in a high-level conference. The Moscow Declaration including the commitments of governments in the field of traffic safety was approved in the “First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety” organized in Moscow on 20 November 2009.
ii. United Nations Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020) (New York, 2 March 2010)
To mobilize the international will proclaimed in the Declaration, the Plan for the Decade of Action21 was prepared under the leadership of the United Nations and the coordination of the World Health Organization, and aimed at decreasing accidents involving death by 50% between 2011-2020 to save 5 million lives and avert 50 million injuries.
Subsequent to the Moscow Declaration, the “2011-2020 Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety” was published to ensure traffic safety and decrease the loss of life resulting from traffic accidents by 50% between 2011-2020 along with the decision No. 64/255 (A/64/L.44/Rev.1) on the “Improvement of Global Road Safety” discussed and approved in the meeting dated 2 March 2010 of the United Nations General Assembly.22
iii. United Nations Heads of State and Government Conference “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” (New York, 25-27 September 2015)
2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)23 accepted by all UN member states in 2015, in other words the Global Goals, are a universal call for action declared by the United Nations to eradicate poverty, protect our world, and ensure that all people live in peace and welfare.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been approved as a result of efforts made by countries and the UN including the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs24 (UN DESA). The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was appointed to guide the conduct and financing of aforementioned goals by 2030, as of the date of January 2016, when the Sustainable Development Goals entered into force.25
iv. The Second Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Road safety: “It is Time to See the Results” Brazil Declaration (Brasilia, 18- 19 November 2015)
In the Second Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Road Safety held in Brazil in November 2015, where it was stated that the approximate annual global cost due to traffic accidents is USD 1 trillion 850 billion , that improvements were made in many countries as part of the 2020 objectives yet in some countries the efforts made fell short, the following decisions were made:
Development Goals as common goals.
v. United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (November 2017)
12 global road safety objectives were identified with the participation of member states to measure the progress of the Global Road Safety Action Plan (2010- 2020). The United Nations Road Safety Collaboration was established with the participation of high-level government officials of member states from various sectors such as health, transport, internal affairs, and security.
The identified global objectives were developed in line with 5 fundamental pillars determined within the scope of the Global Road Safety Action Plan: Road Safety Management, Safer Roads and Mobility, Safer Road Users, Safer Vehicles, and Post-Accident Reaction Management (2010-2020).
Within the scope of the collaborative work between the World Health Organization (WHO), member states and the UN organizations, it was decided to develop a series of indicators to facilitate the measurement of new objectives. The 12 objectives identified by the UN are as follows:26
vi. Third Global High-Level Conference on Road Safety: “To Achieve 2030 Objectives” Stockholm Declaration (Stockholm, 19-20 February 2020)
The third United Nations High-Level Conference on Road Safety was organized in Sweden/Stockholm between the dates 19-20 February 2020. In the declaration published at the end of the conference:
It was indicated that the national and international cooperation should be strengthened with a multisector approach including non-governmental organizations and industrial companies as part of the safe system approach and vision zero objectives in light of the experiences gained in the 2011-2020 Decade of Action for Traffic Safety after reiterating the decision titled “Changing our world; 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda” No. 70/1 and dated 25 September 2015 of the United Nations General Assembly and the determination on realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by referring to the Moscow Declaration and Brazil Declaration which are important building blocks in the field of traffic safety.
Furthermore, it was stated that it wasn’t possible to achieve the objective of decreasing the loss of lives and serious injuries resulting from traffic accidents by 50% by 2020, which is identified as the goal No. 3.6 under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and that it was only possible to achieve this objective with stronger national traffic safety management, global cooperation, and adoption of evidence-based strategies, and with the participation of all stakeholders and additional efforts.
In the Declaration where the United Nations General Assembly is called on to take a decision within the scope of the matters specified therein, 18 bullet points were addressed for the achievement of traffic safety goals, which are summarily as follows:
and it was recommended these matters should be included in the strategy papers to be prepared by countries.
i. Road Improvement and Traffic Safety Project (1996)
A loan was obtained from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the Road Improvement and Traffic Safety Project (KİTGİ) launched in 1996. The project has two sub-components which are the Project on the Improvement of Roads and the Project on Traffic Safety.
The project was conducted by Turkish National Police, Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Health and Gazi University under the coordinatorship of the Directorate General of Highways. At the end of the aforementioned project, a long-term “National Traffic Safety Programme” that covers the years 2001-2010 was jointly prepared with SWEROAD.27
ii. New Developments, Objectives and Solution Projects in Traffic Safety (2007)
“New Developments, Objectives, and Solution Projects in Traffic Safety” which involve projects on improving education, control, support services, communication, information, motivation and productivity to ensure traffic safety was put into practice by the Ministry of Interior across Turkey with the Ministerial Circular dated 07.12.2007 and No. 103 as of 01.01.2008.
The aforementioned project aimed at ensuring order in traffic, determining and implementing measures to decrease traffic accidents and resulting deaths, injuries, and financial losses, additionally, informing and raising the awareness of road users (drivers, pedestrians, and passengers) on traffic rules and the risks they may face.
The duty to implement the project was given to the Turkish National Police and the General Command of Gendarmerie, with the collaboration of the Ministries of National Education, Transport, Justice, Health, and Finance, Undersecretariat of Treasury, Radio and Television High Council (RTÜK), Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), universities, local administrations, radio and television organizations, and non-governmental and private sector organizations . Implementation instructions prepared in accordance with the goals and overall objectives identified in the project were sent to the TNP headquarters, General Command of Gendarmerie, and 81 provincial governorships with a circular. With the provision of objective-focused planned trainings and the determination of the areas of control, goals on the rate of seatbelt use of urban and intercity drivers were included on the agenda and adopted for the first time.28
iii. Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan (2011-2020)
Based on the decision dated 10 May 2010 and No. 64/255 taken by the United Nations General Assembly, the “Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan” was prepared in cooperation with relevant institutions and organizations under the coordinatorship of the Ministry of Interior, Directorate General of Turkish National Police to prevent the traffic accidents happening on the roads of Turkey, and to decrease and alleviate the results of deaths and injuries to a great extent. In this context, the Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan (2011-2020) prepared was sent to the Prime Ministry after being deliberated in the 121st meeting of the Road Traffic Safety Committee on 30 June 2011.
The decision to put into practice and follow up the Plan for the Decade of Action at the highest level was taken by the Road Safety Supreme Council gathering on 30 May 2012, and following these initiatives, the “Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan” was published in the Official Gazette dated 31 June 2012 and entered into force in the addendum of the Circular No. 2012/16 of the Prime Ministry Directorate General of Personnel and Principles.
The issuance of Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan in a Circular demonstrates the importance attached to traffic safety based on the decision No. 64/255 of the United Nations General Assembly. Goals to decrease loss of life and injury were set and the activities to be conducted by the stakeholder institutions were identified with the strategy paper. The institutions were assigned to be responsible for the realization of these goals, and the Ministry of Interior (TNP) was vested with the duty of the coordination of activities of various ministries.
Moreover, the “Road Traffic Safety Strategy Coordination Board” was established to follow up the Action Plan and ensure interinstitutional cooperation and coordination under the chair of the Ministry of Interior with the Circular No. 2012/16 of the Prime Ministry Directorate General of Personnel and Principles.29
With the Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan, serious progress was made through planned controls conducted by the TNP Traffic Presidency across the country.
Within the aforesaid strategy and action plan, two focus groups were determined for each strategy; namely, one medium-term goal for 2015, and one ultimate goal for 2020. In the Action Plan in the addendum of the Traffic Safety Strategy, the 2015 and 2020 goals were shown in a tabular format according to the current situation under the following headings;
As for the activities to be conducted to determine the national priorities of Turkey on road safety and to follow up on best example practices and the main objectives determined in the light of Moscow Declaration signed in 2009 and to actualize these objectives, in the Action Plan, the following were determined to be performed and provided:
‘’We would certainly like to achieve these objectives through further efforts in each field on traffic, from education to
control, and transport infrastructure to health care services. From the The Ministry of Education to Directorate of Religious
Affairs, the municipalities to security forces, sportspersons to artists, and to the media; all have a responsibility in this regard.’’
Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN
President
Figure: Strategic Development of Traffic Safety.
Ensuring traffic safety is possible with the provision of infrastructure services, emergency response and first aid, post-accident rescue services, education, relevant legislation, regulation, and control services. Therefore, to ensure safer traffic, it is necessary to provide the services on traffic safety consistently, regularly, on time, and in cooperation and harmony.
The main objective of the Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan is to decrease the deaths resulting from traffic accidents by 50% by the end of 2020 with the Objective-Planned Control Strategy covering the years 2011-2020
iv. Traffic Safety Implementation Policy Paper (2017)
“Traffic Safety Implementation Policy Paper”, which was declared in the Traffic Safety and Road Passenger Transport Workshop organized in Ankara on 12 September 2017, is one of the essential building blocks to ensure traffic safety in Turkey.
A short-term control strategy to minimize the traffic violations and the traffic accidents occurring as a result of these violations made by the human factor in traffic defined as drivers, passengers and pedestrians was presented in the Road Traffic Safety Implementation Policy Paper.30
The Policy Paper aims to minimize deaths and serious injuries resulting from traffic accidents and to eliminate the possibility of other socio-economic losses (labour force, time, material damages, revenue loss, emergency response, rescue, treatment, rehabilitation, and the material and immaterial damages experienced by the relatives of the victims) experienced due to traffic accidents which threaten social life in general as well as private lives of people.
While on one hand the objectives and approaches of the Ministry of Interior on the new control strategy are presented in detail with the aforementioned policy paper, on the other hand, it is also ensured that the question of traffic safety is approached under a different heading in meetings on peace and security held at provincial and subprovincial levels and the local level.
Measures in practice, matters that require legislative arrangements and existing and future projects were discussed in the Traffic Safety Implementation Policy Paper developed for the civil authorities and security and gendarmerie units to conduct coordinated, measurable, and effective efforts across the country to create a roadmap as part of the joint steps taken and for ensuring the exchange of ideas and consultation by gathering together the civil stakeholders and public institutions on traffic safety.
Traffic Safety Implementation Policy Paper consists of the following chapters:
The paper includes the regulations enabling emergency health care services such as ambulances to to contribute to traffic safety through decreasing reaction times in post-accident emergency interventions, as well as those concerning the Police and Gendarmerie traffic units which are enforcement organizations under the Ministry of Interior. Furthermore, this paper and the measurement criteria were sent to all relevant units and the reporting of outputs obtained and supervision is ensured by measuring the performance of units. With the Implementation Policy Paper, a policy with planned-measurable objectives, identified type of controls, feedback and control mechanism was established in line with the objective to develop an effective control mechanism and to increase the Perceived Risk of Being Caught.31
Likewise, the Policy Paper also aims to minimize deaths and serious injuries due to accidents, eliminate the possibility of other socio-economic losses (labour force, time, material damage, revenue loss, emergency action, rescue, treatment, rehabilitation, and the material and immaterial damages experienced by the relatives of the victims) experienced due to traffic accidents to threaten social life in general, as well as the private lives of people.
To achieve these objectives, it was stated that;
• Well-planned, effective, and consistent controls have the capacity of decreasing accidents involving death by between 25% to 35%,
• The main objective of controls is to keep the Perceived Risk of Being Caught alive by using in the best manner the methods of “punishment” and “face to face communication” identified as the methods to change human behaviours through controls,
• The aim is to decrease deaths resulting from traffic accidents by 50% until the end of 2020 with the Objective-Planned Control Strategy conducted as part of the Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan and covering the 2011-2020 period, and that with this study, a policy paper aiming to increase the Perceived Risk of Being Caught, involving planned and measurable targets, determined control methodologies and a feedback and control mechanism was created,
• This paper and measurement criteria will be submitted to all relevant units and the obtained outputs will be put into a report form, and supervision will be ensured32 by measuring the performances of units.
A monitoring mechanism was also envisaged as part of the aforementioned Policy Paper, and progress was monitored by the Ministry and the necessary efforts were made.
v. Eleventh Development Plan (2019-2023)
The Eleventh Development Plan (2019-2023), being the first development plan under the Presidential Government System has entered into force as a basic roadmap to meet core values and expectations of the Turkish nation, enhance the international position of Turkey and increase the prosperity of the public by presenting the development vision of Turkey with a long-term perspective.
The Development Plan, designed for the first five years of a 15-year perspective, sets forth a continuous and decisive implementation with a long-term perspective by initiating all-out change and breakthrough in all fields. In the plan period, it is aimed to transform the economic structure in a manner to ensure stability and sustainability in the long term and to enhance the human capital through educational actions and the technological and innovative capabilities through technology actions.
As for the economic and social developments in Turkey in the pre-planning period:
Efforts were made to interconnect domestic and overseas production and consumption centres and integrate different modes of transport by developing a logistics and transport infrastructure. 3.591 km of divided road including roads, 325 km of high-speed railway, and three new airports including İstanbul Airport and a rail system line of 249 km for public transport in cities was completed and infrastructure works for Filyos Port which is among the three planned ports were performed.
The level of 43% was reached in electrified tracks, and 45% in signalled tracks by the end of 2018, and works on electrification and signalization currently continue at a considerable extent. The need to improve traffic safety maintains its importance although the geometrical and physical road standards have been improved.
Road transport remains to be dominant one amongst modes of transport in freight and passenger transport, and the need to focus on freight and railway in transport investments continues. The integration, efficiency, predictability, and especially the improvement in customs services could not be increased to the desired level, and a regression was experienced in the Logistics Performance Index.
As such, to increase the competitive power of Turkey by lowering the logistics costs and improving manufacturing industry and commerce, the need to develop combined transport applications, increase the share of the railway and maritime transport, and establish a fast, flexible, safe, reliable, predictable, and integrated logistics and transport system continues.
Headings associated with traffic safety within the Eleventh Development Plan are analysed as follows:
Under the title of “2.2.1.2.3. Electronics”;
“370.1h. The development of applications and practices on matters such as …, transport, … and development of local standards will be ensured.”
Under the title of “2.2.1.2.5. Automotive”;
“384. The development of critical technologies such as environmental technologies, connected and autonomous vehicles, and smart mobility will be given importance within the frame of global developments, new technologies, and changing customer expectations to protect and develop the competitive capacity of the automotive industry.”, “385. Proper infrastructure will be set up for next-generation vehicles.”, “385.1. To establish an effective infrastructure for vehicles with alternative power systems”
The major problem in road traffic safety in Turkey is the imbalance between the TRANSPORT MODALITIES. It is envisaged that the problems will continue as long as the trend of increase in the transport demand in favour of roads is not directed to the other modalities.
Under the title of “2.2.3.8. Logistics and Transport”;
“507. The integration between transport modalities will be strengthened and measures will be taken to eradicate the barriers concerning entry to the sector.”, “508. Service-level perimeters such as flexibility, speed, predictability, safety, quality, scale economy, and innovation will be improved in the logistics activities.”, “508.1. Necessary arrangements will be made to put into practice models of sharing economy through digital platforms and applications to be made accessible for all stakeholders by building a dynamic transport database to measure freight mobility, use unutilized capacity, optimize costs, and prevent informality in road transport.”, “509.1 Railway infrastructure construction, maintenance, infrastructure access and allocation, network notification, safety management, regulation and supervision, train management and the activities of ownership, manufacturing, and maintenance of railway vehicles will be organizationally separated from one another, an effective working mechanism will be established between activities, and the sector will be restructured.”,
“511.1. An asset management system based on preventive maintenance will be established for roads, and HBM paving will be concentrated on routes with bearing heavy vehicle traffic exceeding 1.000-Year Average Daily Traffic.”,
“511.5. The architecture of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) ensuring energy and time savings, traffic safety and the effective use of road capacity in the road network will be completed and put into effect in a way to encompass local authorities.”,
“512.3. Coordination and data sharing between the existing institutions and organizations operating in the field of traffic safety will be maximized.”,
“512.4. Controls will be made more efficient by benefitting from the advances in road technologies to ensure traffic safety at the highest level, and the awareness of the road users on traffic safety will be raised.”,
“512.5. Average speed controls will be taken as basis rather than the instant speed controls in the Electronic Control Systems.”,
“513. Demand management will be adopted for the sustainability of the transport system and the effectiveness of the available infrastructure, and transport investments will be rationalized based on effectiveness.”, “513.1.
The demand management system will be brought into action on roads and bridges with dynamic pricing.”, “514. Approaching transport plans in a holistic manner will be ensured with spatial plans at the national scale and urban logistics plans and spatial strategy plans at the macro scale, and environmental plans and logistics master plans will be prepared and put into practice in cooperation.”, “514.1. The Logistics Master Plan of Turkey and National Transport Master Plan will be completed in coordination.”, “515.1. Safety standards in rail transport will be increased, railroad crossings will be controlled, and accessible transport possibilities will be increased at terminals and stations.”,
“515.2. High speed and fast rail lines which are under construction will be completed to form a more balanced modal distribution and increase passenger comfort.”
Under the heading “2.4.2. Urbanization”;
“674.1. New subcentres will be identified in master plans, necessary technical standards will be determined to provide public and pedestrian transport to subcentres at subscale plans, and the Spatial Plan Preparation Regulation will be revised in line with these standards.”
Under the title of “2.4.5. Urban Infrastructure”;
“701. Policies, decisions, and investments concerning zoning and transportation in the cities will be assessed in coordination and the coherent preparation and update of zoning plans and transport master plans in particular will be ensured.”,
“702. The use of public transport systems rather than private vehicles will be incentivized with the implementation of demand-side policies rather than supply-side policies in urban transportation to decrease the traffic congestion, accidents, and air pollution in cities.”,
“702.1. Bus, Bus Rapid Transport and similar systems will be preferred with priority in urban public transport by taking into account traffic density and developments in travel demand, and railway alternatives will be utilized in routes where these fall short.”,
“702.3. The single card payment system will be put into effect in order to promote the use of public transport systems.”,
“702.4.In metropolitan cities, the dynamic pricing of parking areas as well as of infrastructure elements where bottlenecks occur such as bridges and tunnels and applications such as park-and-ride and preferred roads will be implemented.”,
“703. Environmentally friendly transport modes will be developed, and non-motorized transport will be encouraged in urban transport.”, “703.1. Standards on pedestrian walkways and pavements will be developed to ensure that pedestrian traffic is uninterrupted.” “703.2. Historical and cultural attraction points will be formed in city centres and pedestrian zones cleared of motor vehicles will be established in shopping areas.”
“703.3. Legal and financial support mechanisms will be put into practice to encourage bicycle use.” “703.4. Bicycle lane master plan and implementation plan will be prepared, and new bicycles lanes will be built within this context.” “703.5. Bicycle share systems will be established.” “704. An ITS Strategy Paper will be prepared, ITS architecture will be developed, and ITS applications will be promoted at the national scale for the available infrastructure to be used effectively, the traffic safety to be increased, the transport demand to be properly managed, and to organize a more efficient planning.”, “704.1. The efforts on the National ITS Strategy Paper and 2019-2022 Action Plan will be completed and put into effect.”, “704.2. The project on the development of ITS architecture will be completed.”, “704.3. Dynamic passenger, driver, and pedestrian information systems will be established in the urban transport network, especially in metropolitan cities.”
Under the title of “2.1.6. Fiscal Policy”; “257.In order to attain the goals envisaged for priority sector and development areas, it is stipulated to budget the expenditures necessitated by the incentives and support provided to boost private sector investments, R&D, innovation, production and export, primarily public sector expenditures related to training, logistics infrastructure, industrial zone infrastructure and irrigation, within the plan period. The financing of said expenditures will be met from the financial facility to be created as a result of the rationalization of budget revenues and expenses. The share of expenditure items which will increase the long-term productivity and efficiency of the economy in the budget expenses will be increased within the plan period.”
Under the title of “2.2.2. Priority Development Fields”;
“411.2. The logistics infrastructure for the establishment of cold chain in agricultural products will be improved.”
Under the title of “2.4.6. Rural Development” ;
“708.1. The organization of family businesses and small and medium-scale manufacturers will be encouraged to ensure that their production and financial structure is strengthened and that scale economies are benefitted from within scope of the rural development supports; and the improvement of the branding and marketing activities will be ensured with the manufacturing and logistics infrastructures.”
Logistics and Transport Sector Objectives |
2018 |
2023 |
Fast Train Line Length (km, Cumulative) |
1.213 |
5.595 |
Share of Railroad Passenger Transport in Total (Rural, %) |
1,3 |
3,8 |
Share of Dual Track Railroad Length in Total Mainline (%) |
12,4 |
26,3 |
Share of Handled Freight in the Cabotage Line in Total Handling (%) |
12,9 |
18 |
Total Number of Airport Passengers (Including Direct Transit) (Million) |
211 |
266 |
Divided Road Length (Including Highway) (km, Cumulative) |
26.642 |
29.514 |
Highway Length (km, Cumulative) |
2.842 |
3.779 |
HBM Paved Road Network (km, Cumulative) |
25.215 |
31.478 |
Improved Accident Black Spots |
70 |
75 |
Number of Persons Losing Their Lives as a result of Traffic Accidents |
6.675 |
4.900 |
According to the latest estimations of the World Health Organization and The World Bank Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (WB/IHME), 1.35 million people lose their lives, and 78 million people get injured in a way to be exposed to long-term disability every year.33
In this context, the cost of loss of life and financial losses resulting from traffic accidents is very high, which is estimated to be USD 518 billion which corresponds to 1-2% of the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of countries.
The following are the benefits of making estimations on the cost of traffic accidents:
Below is a figure on the calculations made by taking into account multiple inputs in studies on the direct and indirect expenditures related to traffic accidents.
Psychological and social negative effects are observed on the individual and society, as well as tangible and intangible costs resulting from traffic accidents.
Figure: Costs incurrred due to the Direct and Indirect Expenditures Related to Traffic Accidents
Psychological and social negative effects are observed on the individual and society, as well as tangible and intangible costs resulting from traffic accidents.
When addressing costs;34,35
a. Direct Costs are:
b. Indirect Costs are:
Traffic accidents rank the eighth amongst the causes of death across the world, and considering the fact that it is in the first place amongst the causes of death in the young population between the ages of 15-29, it certainly has a crucial impact on the individual and society.
In this sense, when examining the impact of traffic accidents on the individual and society, one can see that they cause numerous inconveniences such as injuries, deaths, socio-economic losses that affect the country economy and welfare, and psychological and physiological effects on the lives of victims and their relatives.
Amongst the damages, the traffic accidents cause, the most important are organ injuries (fractures and traumatic brain damage due to head traumas, whiplash injuries, spinal and chest injuries), psychological damages the person was exposed to (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-PTSD) and the socio-economic losses of the person.
Amongst the impact of traffic accidents on the society are36 social security costs for the injured people, rehabilitation and psychological support process as well as emergency care and trauma treatment, obtaining large amounts of medications, prostheses, and surgical equipment used during the treatment process, most of which are imported from overseas, and the extra cost burden the traffic accidents place on healthcare along with the increase in the number of patients per doctor and health care professional affecting the efficiency.
As a result of traffic accidents; the loss of qualified labour force, post-accident financial losses, untimely wear and tear of roads, and the maintenance and repair costs due to the traffic signs, panels, and traffic dividers being damaged place an extra burden on the economy. The facts that the workload in the judicial system increased with many cases filed, an increase happened in the population of persons with disabilities, life quality decreased, production and welfare losses, and Turkey’s image was tarnished along with the negative effect it produced over development in the long-term, are the other social results the traffic accidents caused.
In the studies conducted, the direct and indirect costs caused by an individual losing their life in a traffic accident are calculated within the scope of the “Reduced Life-Long Economic Cost Calculation”, “Average Comprehensive Cost Calculation”, and “Statistical Lifetime Value”37 methods. Even though the literature review reveals that there are various calculation differences in different countries and under different understandings, it can also be seen that there are some common criteria.
According to the report prepared under Activity 2.1 of the 2nd Component (Suggestions on Delivering Road Safety Services in a More Attractive Manner to Better Implement Improved Control and Strategies) of the project “Road Safety – 100% Safety in Traffic”: 38
As a result of comprehensive calculations made, one can see the mere financial cost of the accidents by is TRY 40 billion TL in 2016, TRY 44.5 billion in 2017, and TRY 53.2 billion in 2018.
Including the direct and indirect costs of the traffic accidents happening in Turkey, the cost in 2016 was TRY 49.6 billion, in 2017 TRY 55.8 billion, and in 2018 TRY 66.4 billion . The cost of these 3 years in itself demonstrates the burden the traffic accidents place on the country economy.
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
Determination of the current government, |
Lack of human-oriented road traffic safety approach, |
Accumulation of knowledge, technical infrastructure, and experience of the Directorate General of Highways, |
The number and variety of institutions and organizations on road safety management and coordination, |
Experiences of the Turkish National Police, |
Institutions and organizations make individual efforts for traffic safety, yet there is lack of inter-unit coordination in such efforts and lack of effectiveness in preventing accidents and deaths, |
The experience of the General Command of Gendarmerie, |
Lack of dynamic and effective inter-ministerial coordination withsanctions based on the liabilities of institutions being responsible for traffic safety, |
Presence of non-governmental organizations working earnestly on Road Traffic Safety, producing projects, and advocating, |
Problems experienced in the preparation, update, monitoring, and assessment of the results and impact of problem-based and consistent long and short-term plans on traffic safety, |
Problems faced in the determination of road safety rules, encouraging and popularizing traffic safety and in the integrity, effectivity and implementation of the measures taken, |
|
Failure to control the roadside structures due to the lack of cooperation and coordination in the field of traffic safety between the central and local administrations, |
|
Problems experienced in the determination of legislation and standards, improvement and update of existing ones, their harmony and integrity, and the development and promotion of standards and rules on the basis of new needs, |
|
Problems experienced in the research of new technology and practices in the field of traffic safety in the world, and the implementation of information transfer and best practice examples across the country, |
|
Information exchange, cooperation and coordination problem between the public, private institutions, universities, and non-governmental organizations, etc. |
|
Problems experienced ion the detection and allocation of financial resource, |
|
Problems experienced in the R&D activities on traffic safety, |
Table-2: Opportunities and Threats in Road Safety Management
Opportunities |
Threats |
Strong and central state structure |
The length of bureaucratic processes, |
The importance started to be attached to the Road Traffic Safety, |
The reflex of different institutions and organizations working on Road Traffic Safety to keep their roles and responsibilities, |
Harmonization process with the EU, |
|
The project on “the New Period in Road Safety, 100% Safety in Traffic” co-funded by the Republic of Turkey and the European Union, |
Table-3: Safer Roads and Mobility Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
The use of Electronic Control Systems (ECS) in traffic enforcement, |
Lack of human-oriented road traffic safety approach, |
The accumulation of knowledge, technical infrastructurestructure, and experience of the Directorate General of Highways, |
The high percentage of roads in freight and passenger transport, |
A strong construction sector carrying out business on road infrastructure, |
|
The presence of strong NGOs, |
Lack of a national authority being responsible for the urban road safety, |
Smart control systems, |
The Metropolitan Municipalities not making any road safety efforts for the transport systems and road networks in their areas of responsibility, |
The presence of an experienced private sector in smart control systems, |
Lack of qualified specialists and staff in the traffic and road safety departments of the Metropolitan Municipalities, |
Investments made to the main public transport systems (BRT, LRT, and Subway) in cities, |
The roads within the area of responsibility of DGH and the Metropolitan Municipalities of the directive 2008/96/EC on Road Infrastructure Safety Management, |
The presence of expansive road networks, and the fact that their geometrical standards have been improved in the last decade, |
Lack of safe public transport action plans for cities |
Accumulated experience and infrastructure (bus fleets, terminals, etc.) |
Variable construction plans and non-updated transport master plans, |
Divided roads constructed, |
The failure to meet the urban transport demands with safe and sustainable transport systems, |
Public financing support in investments, |
Lack of safe pedestrian infrastructure in cities, |
The proclivity to technical know-how, monitoring and implementation of technological advancements, |
Lack of road safety in the rubber-wheeled public transport systems operated in cities, |
The approval of TS ISO 23600 standards (assistive products for persons with vision and hearing impairments – Acoustic and tacticle signals for pedestrian traffic lights) on 12.04.2012 |
Lack of road safety in paratransit systems (dolmuş/shared taxi, minibus, taxi-dolmuş) operated in cities, |
The experience in public transport management, |
Lack of road safety in the main public transport systems operated in cities, |
The presence of well-established technical universities such as ITU, METU, YTU, and KTU, |
Lack of scientific literature in road safety and business, |
Technoparks within universities, |
Inadequacies in R&D investments, |
Table-4: Safer Roads and Mobility Opportunities and Threats
Opportunities |
Threats |
Safe system approach, |
Motor vehicle purchase demand, |
The Directorate General of Highways initiating actions on establishing Smart Transport Systems, |
The Directorate General of Highways initiating actions on establishing Smart Transport Systems, |
The increase in fuel prices, |
Road-focused transport demand, |
The increase in the taxes on motor vehicles and the total sale prices, |
Fast and unplanned urbanization, |
process with the EU, |
The continuity of external dependence in terms of raw material, energy, and technology in the field of transportation, |
The project on “the New Period in Road Safety, 100% Safety in Traffic” co-funded by the Republic of Turkey, and the European Union, |
Operational speeds independent of speed limits, |
Automated vehicle technology, |
The failure to understand the relationship between urban design and road safety, |
The development and promotion of mobile applications (IBB, Traffic, Moovit, Uber, etc.) for each field of traffic with each passing day, |
|
ISO 39001 System, |
|
The prioritization of Road Traffic Safety Management Divided road and road investments in governmental programmes, |
|
High level of expectations in traffic safety services at national and international levels, |
|
Increasing public demand in the manufacturing, maintenance, and repair services depending on the developing economic and social conditions, |
|
Transport Master Plan efforts, |
|
The government supporting R&D and innovative products, |
|
Lack of widespread use of smart control systems, |
|
Lack of widespread use of traffic relieving practices, |
|
Lack of a national guideline on traffic relieving practices, |
|
Safety ratings being made according to the volume and variety of road users on the road network classes in Turkey and to these road networks, |
|
The inadequacy of urban bicycle lanes, and unsecured infrastructure designs, |
|
Insufficient accessibility level between the urban transport systems, |
|
Lack of development of safe pedestrian action plans for cities, |
|
Lack of forgiving road designs, |
|
Lack of self-expressing road designs, |
|
Insufficient number of qualified staff, |
|
Lack of development of safe bicycle action plans for cities, |
Smart passage technologies, |
|
Smart traffic signs, |
|
Black box and tracking systems, |
|
Smart traffic relieving applications, |
|
Smart road lighting systems, |
|
Online smart air and road condition information system for all road users, |
|
Lowering of costs along with the production of jersey barriers in Turkey, |
|
NGOs with technical staff and specialists, |
|
Vehicle share systems, |
|
Vehicle rent and fleet rental systems, |
|
Travel share systems, |
Table 5: Safer Road Users Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
Seminars provided to citizens on traffic safety, |
Lack of human-oriented road traffic safety approach, |
TNP Controls, (speed, alcohol, seatbelt, substance, traffic signs and lights, cell phone), |
The wish to use fast vehicles, and not obeying the speed limits, |
Authorizing polices apart from traffic polices with traffic violation detection authority, |
The use of cell phones, which has become an addiction, while walking or driving, in all road users, from the driver using a motor vehicle to the pedestrian walking on the pavement, |
The presence of strong NGOs, |
The lack of first aid and emergency aid knowledge of the public, |
The inadequacy of raising traffic awareness in basic education and secondary education institutions, |
|
Provision of Traffic and Environment, and Traffic Manners courses in Motor Vehicle Driver Courses, |
Lack of “pedestrian” training, being one of the road users, |
Provision of First Aid trainings, |
Lack of control on pedestrian movements, |
Trainings provided for traffic polices, |
Insufficient driver training areas, |
Information for the staff and family of General Command of Gendarmerie on traffic safety, |
Insufficient children traffic training parks, |
Activities organized on the safe use of agricultural vehicles in roads, |
Lack of sufficient literature and sample case studies on school-zone road safety, |
Suggestions on the provision of trainings for students and driving instructors on the behaviours and attitudes against the persons with disabilities in traffic, in the elementary and secondary schools, and driving courses, starting from preschools. |
Lack of sufficient literature and sample case studies for School-Home, Home-School traffic safety, |
Insufficient driving course times, |
|
Insufficient public, NGO, private sector, and media cooperation, |
|
Lack of sustainable training approach, |
|
The Training of Trainers being insufficient, |
|
The trainings provided for public transport drivers being insufficient, |
|
The trainings provided for public transport drivers not to be continuous, |
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Insufficient training of paratransit drivers, |
Table-7: Safer Vehicles Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths |
Zayıf Yönler |
99 Highway Control Stations, |
The failure to implement the Vienna Road Traffic Convention of 1968, |
Heavy vehicle controls, |
The public transport vehicles not being in accordance with the accessibility standards, |
Vehicle examinations |
Insufficient market surveillance and control, |
TSI standards, |
Insufficient use of head guards, |
TÜBİTAK, |
Lack of periodical vehicle examinations actively conducted, |
The winter tire practice not to include all motor vehicles, |
Table-6: Safer Road Users Opportunities and Threats
Opportunities |
Threats |
The presence of strong NGOs, |
The decrease in the number of volunteer traffic inspectors, |
The information capacity of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, |
|
Training and information capacity of Public Education Centres, |
|
Online training facilities, |
|
Smart head guard technologies, |
|
The provision of “Traffic Safety” course for an hour a week to the fourth-graders between the 2017-2018 academic years, |
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To start the provision of Health Information and Traffic Culture course in 9th grades as a compulsory course as of the 2017-2018 academic years, |
|
Making efforts on achieving the standards identified with the EU Acquis, |
|
Inclusion of Traffic Manners course in driving courses, |
|
The traffic safety training provided by the General Command of Gendarmerie for the soldiers in compulsory military service. |
|
Quantitative insufficiency of trainers, |
|
The failure to organize traffic police scene of accident analysis teams, |
|
Regional and sectoral information, |
|
Insufficient administrative fines, |
|
Insufficient penalty point system. |
Table-8: Safer Vehicles Opportunities and Threats
Opportunities |
Threats |
The efforts of TSI, |
Insufficient coordination and cooperation between institutions |
Accessibility standard for persons with disabilities and persons with limitation of movement with TS 13622 entering into force on 25.06.2014 in public transport systems, |
|
Adaptation process with the EU, |
|
The signing of the Vienna Road Traffic Convention of 1968, |
|
To carry out works on increasing the number, knowledge, and capacity of control staff and organize a team of 100 control teams in automotive production group, |
Table-10: Post-Accident Reaction Management Opportunities and Threats
Opportunities |
Threats |
Helicopter landing-take-off fields of General Command of Gendarmerie in rural areas, |
|
One-call practice, |
|
Ambulance park efforts for all the road-side park of all Bus Drivers’ Federation |
|
Adaptation process with the EU, |
|
The project on “the New Period in Road Safety, 100% Safety in Traffic” co-funded by the Republic of Turkey, and the European Union, |
|
The presence of strong NGOs, |
|
The presence of large road networks and the fact that the geometrical standards of roads have been increased in the last decade, |
|
The support of political authority on health investments, |
|
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
Well-trained and experienced health care staff, |
Lack of human-oriented road traffic safety approach, |
Adaptation process with the EU, |
Insufficient health care staff, |
Insufficient trauma unit staff, |
|
Insufficient assisting staff, |
|
Insufficient ambulance, landing-take-off field (7) in rural areas, |
|
Transportation difficulties of the ground ambulance to the site of the accident, |
|
Transportation difficulty in reaching the case in city centres and rural areas in emergency health calls for aid, |
|
Insufficient marine ambulances (4), |
|
Insufficient ambulance aircraft, |
|
Lack of ambulance vehicles (such as air cushion boat ambulance) designed for different conditions, |
|
Lack of trauma centres, |
Table-9: Post-Accident Reaction Management Strengths and Weaknesses
Traffic is a global problem unfortunately threatening human life in today’s world as well as being a sign of life at the core of human life. Traffic accidents, identified as a public health problem by the World Health Organization, cause the death of an average of 1.35 million people, and the injury of around 50 million on earth each year. It continues to rank as the eight causes of death amongst others, and the first between the ages of 5-29 on a global scale, the rising technology doesn’t reduce the risk, rather, the distracting impact of some innovations such as the increase in the speed of vehicles and cell phones stimulates this threat.
It does not of course, in need of explanation that Turkey has, unfortunately, had a poor report on traffic accidents, suffered, and experienced loss of lives more than terrorism for many years. The economic cost of traffic accident itself in 2019 on the country is calculated to be 55.5 billion TLs.
Different efforts have been made to decrease traffic accident from past to present, many measures have been implemented, and they had positive outcomes in different scales. Nevertheless, our approach to traffic problem acquired a strategic dimension after 15 July, when is the safety milestone of Turkey in a sense, as it is in many other safety problems unlike all of these.
Strategic approach in traffic safety
Regarding the traffic problem, the Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan, prepared under the leadership and guidance of our Estimable President Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN himself in 2011 and aiming at decreasing the loss of lives in traffic accidents by 50% as the priority objective, has been the first step on the solution of this problem in Turkey for the most part.
Traffic Safety Implementation Policy Paper, published in 2017 has been the updated roadmap, where the new measures and strategies are identified, of the new concrete steps to be taken within this plan. The measures to be taken in the short, medium, and long-term were planned in this paper, and the steps to both decrease the accidents of today and establish the driver and pedestrian behaviours of tomorrow properly. A strategy developed over four trivets, which can be summarized as control, social awareness, capacity increase, and training were determined in this context.
Table: Number of Statements Taken and the Amount of Penalty (2013-2019)
Table: The Relation Between Control and Loss of Life (100 Indexes) (2011-2019)
A new perspective in traffic controls
Fining, the increase in the number of controls and the change of control mentality has been aimed at in the control side. There was an effort on decreasing the fines based on plates, rather, increasing the face to face controls. Thus, the awareness of the driver was raised. Warning rather than fining was prioritized and getting the driver out of the vehicle was aimed at especially for long-distance drivers, to avert distractibility.
Again, such control types such as directing drivers to rest stops in road sections were also developed with the same purpose. In the meantime, the days and hours when there were large numbers of accidents were analysed and the controls were planned accordingly, and the number of teams and staff doubled and the visibility of the teams was increased on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and between 4.00-6.00 pm on the other days, when a large number of accidents happened.
When accepting the number controls in 2011 as 100, the number of controls in 2016 was 132, and 220 as of the end of 2019. Trap radar/repeating radar practices were also abolished following the baseline to raise awareness in controls. Instead, the Average Speed Violation Detection System was enacted by being accepted as the speed corridor between the entrance and exit with the HSPS/APS on the 2.155 km long road network, and thus, a concept that is more effective and aims at decreasing both instantaneous brakes and average speed. A 20.3% decrease in the number of accidents and a 12% decrease in the number of accidents involving death was ensured in the roads, where this system was used between 2018-2019. Increasing visibility and raising awareness was accepted as the new priority, and new methods were developed.
Model Traffic Unit Vehicles, subjected to pleasant incidents in public and humour and scenes in social media, was also presented as such innovation. These models have met the expectations and been effective in ensuring an 11% decrease in the number of accidents in 3 km radius in where they were located, 17.5% in accidents involving death, and 26.4% in the loss of lives in 2019 when compared with 2018.
767 model traffic unit vehicles still function on a 24/7 basis in Turkey. Aircraft technologies were also benefitted in addition to the available control methods, and Aerial Traffic Control practice was initiated utilizing drones and helicopters. From 5 October 2018, when the practice was started, to 26 October 2020, 21.144 violations were detected with 2930 hours of flights with helicopters, and 174.454 violations were detected with 28.025 hours of flight.
In addition to all these, spot-on controls were concentrated on, the places where traffic accidents happened frequently in Turkey were determined and named as “accident blackspots”, and custom controls were conducted on these spots. Besides, A serious decrease was observed in the accidents happening on holidays along with the measures taken on Ramadan and Eid Al-Adha. It was observed that the traffic density increased 61% when compared with normal holidays, and the daily average loss of life on holidays in the last ten years decreased 51.5% during Ramadan, and 34% in Eid Al-Adha.
Again, sectoral controls were conducted within the concept of control, and particularly, the intercity bus and school bus controls were intensively continued. The intercity passenger transportation showed an increase of 21.2% between 2018-2019, so did the general control number with 23% in the same period.
Raising social awareness
Another trivet of the new period traffic strategy is social awareness. The achievement of no long-lasting success in public management is possible without the support and contribution of society. From this point forth, campaigns raising awareness to change the current driver and pedestrian behaviours in traffic safety problem were organized.
Ramadan and Eid Al-Adha were effective bases for these campaigns, and as stated above, their benefits reflected in the figures were observed in implementation. Many campaigns such as “Red Whistle”, “Let Your Seatbelt Influence Other”, “We Are All Together in This Road” were organized and the participation of children, and the campaigns being riveting were the main objectives.
This approach was also adopted outside holidays and spread to the entire year with activities and other campaigns such as video and brochure designing contests. Thus, there was a sort of effort to create mental pressure on traffic.
Strengthening training and preventing future accidents
It was regarded necessary that the drivers and pedestrians in the future should be gained the proper behaviours as of today to prevent accidents today and the accidents of the future as of today and change the behaviours of today’s drivers and pedestrians. To that end, one of the trivets of the new period’s strategy was determined as training. As such, ongoing training problems were developed, and new training projects were put into action. For instance, 3.050 drivers having the greatest number of accident, where they are the faulty side in the last 5 years were provided with the training again. Furthermore, child traffic training parks were renovated, and their numbers were increased.
There are currently 98 Child Traffic Training Parks in 47 provinces in Turkey. Trainings will be provided for children in modernized parks along with the ones with continuing constructions in 81 provinces by the end of 2020.
30.791 children were provided with training in these parks in a period of 9-months in 2020.
As such, a total of 13.5 million people was provided with the traffic training along with 7 million children with 2 Mobile Traffic Training Truck, captured from drug dealers and modernized, and 36.565 students in 524 schools in 52 provinces, and 670.000 people in public places with other project-based trainings, within the scope of the Traffic Inspectors Child Training Project.
A strong state, Safer Traffic.
Practising all these strategies, efforts, and innovations necessarily require a humane and technical capacity. Under direct support and instructions of our Honourable President and even occasional participation to campaigns in person, we found the opportunity to provide the necessary support swiftly and effectively on ensuring traffic safety.
The direct appointment of 5.800 security personnel to traffic units was ensured between 2018-2019, after having graduated from police academies. While there 1 traffic unit per every 20 km on intercity roads before, this distance was reduced to 16 km with the recruitments. When calculating in terms of population, while there was 1 traffic unit per 23 thousand people, this number was reduced to 17 thousand. 600 new motorcycles were purchased for the traffic units; thus, the conflict capacity of the units was considerably increased.
Pedestrian-priority traffic
The transition to “Pedestrian-Priority Traffic Concept” is an important revolutionary step. In October 2018, this new approach, begun with the amendment made on Article 74 of the Law on Traffic, was announced with the “Life is Your Priority, Priority Belongs to the Pedestrian” motto. A 22% of decrease was ensured in the loss of lives of pedestrians in the one year when the practice was started, and success in decreasing the number of loss of lives of pedestrians from 495 to 385 was achieved in the first year.
Results
As is known, the “2011-2020 Road Traffic Safety Strategic Plan” is about to be completed and has achieved its objectives one year in advance. The world average in the Loss of Life Per 100.000 People in Traffic Accidents, being an international standard is 18, the European average is 5, the USA is 11.4, France is 4.85, and Germany is 3.96. This number has fallen to 6.5 in Turkey as of 2019 while it was 9.6 in 2015. Ülkemizde bu rakam, 2015’te 9.6 iken 2019 sonu itibarıyla 6.6’ya gerilemiştir.
Table: Country-wide Traffic Accident Data (2018-2019
According to the World Health Organization data, it is obvious that the fact that this number has regressed to 6.5 from 9.6 in the last 4 years in Turkey, while it regressed to 18.2 from 18.8 in the world between 2000-2016 is a development that is over the world average. If expressed over net figures, the total number of loss of lives in traffic accidents was lowered to 6.675 in 2018, while it was 7.530 in 2015, and was 5.473 as of the end of 2019.
The 22.4% decrease in the number of accidents involving death and the 25.1% decrease in the loss of life on the site of an accident between 2018-2019 are rapid declines with unprecedented percentages.
Figure: Loss of life on the Site of Accident in Traffic Per 100.000 Vehicles (2011-2020)
New objectives and a new future in traffic
The positive outcomes as a result of the steps taken were reflected in the data. However, the final objective of traffic safety is to reduce the loss of life to zero with an approach that agrees that even 1 number of death is too much, with reference to the fact that human life is the subject of traffic accidents inside all efforts.
Objectives and new strategies were determined for future efforts in this respect. The traffic controls will increase in number and continue to achieve the objectives planned in the short-term. Then again, the activities to increase “The Perceived Risk of Being Caught” practised on drivers and pedestrians all along will be continued uninterruptedly.
Besides, reducing bureaucracy within all services in the traffic is amongst the objectives of the future period. Efforts on the legal legislations will continue in the future processes as it has been in each step taken so far. On the implementation of these steps, efforts such as police-gendarmerie joint controls, Model Traffic Unit practice, controls specific to holidays, spot-on controls for places and times, when many accidents happen, and increasing face to face controls and ensuring 50% will be meticulously followed up.
Furthermore, the control and awareness efforts on the use of cell phones while driving and seatbelt will be continued uninterruptedly. The “2011-2020 Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan” was completed and achieved the objectives in the plan as of 2019.
The “Safe System” approach will be followed up in the Traffic Safety Strategy Paper planned to be followed up between 2021-2030, and efforts will be made to develop a system that will compensate and cover the potential mistakes in traffic as well as ensure that people won’t make mistakes, by accepting that they may in the first place. Safer roads not to make people fall into error, safer signing and signalization systems, forming safer vehicles and safer and functional speed limits that will prevent people from making mistakes, and eliciting the perfection of post-accident intervention equipment are amongst the objectives of the new period.
It is necessary to excel in traffic accidents that aren’t associated with geography or other factors as well as being a strong country under serious safety risk, which it successfully manages, as from the geography Turkey is situated. The fact that the road infrastructure of Turkey has reached and even come up the world standards, the 112-emergency response capacity has reached, and the health care capacity has enhanced play an important role in the serious progress made in the field of traffic safety. Everything achieved so far is evidential of the further progress to be made in the field of traffic safety.
The efforts shown in ensuring traffic safety will bring success.
We need to act according to the principles put forth by the safe system approach, especially the decision-making mechanisms in this step taken with a transport system, in which no one loses their lives or gets seriously injured in traffic accidents. Zero death in traffic and the safe system approach will determine the steps we will take. Within the scope of the realization of aims, objectives, and strategies specified in the 2021-2030 Traffic Safety Strategy Paper, action plans named as:
The first action plan is the Traffic Safety Action Plan which was prepared and put into effect in a way to cover the years 2021 and 2023 concurrently with this Strategy Paper, and has importance in terms of presenting the progress it has made in the 100th year of the establishment of the republic, and stated at the same framework with the “Vision: Zero Loss of Life in Traffic”.
As is known, the transition to strategic management was aimed at in the public institutions with the Public Finance Management and Control Law No. 5018 put into effect to enable public finance management, and thus enhancing the quality of public services, making efficiency, productivity, and saving by increasing the resource use capacity and improving financial transparency employing accountability mechanisms.
Strategic plans prepared in this context, form a basis for the determination of the medium and long-term strategic priorities of the management, ensuring financial discipline and distributing resources according to strategic priorities, efficient and effective use of aforesaid resources, and the development of transparency and accountability concepts.
The institutions in Turkey prepare the medium and long-term Strategy Plans, annual Performance Programmes, and Activity Reports, including the institutions’ aims, objectives, strategy, and performance indicators, as per the aforementioned legislation being in force.
Within this framework, as goals in line with the framework determined with the strategic plans prepared within the scope of the 2023 objectives of the stakeholder ministries, institutions, and organizations were set in the preparation of the Traffic Safety Strategy Paper and Action Plan in general, no separate budget section was involved in the 2021- 2030 Traffic Safety Strategy Paper and the 2021-2023 Traffic Safety Action Plan.
The 2021-2030 Traffic Safety Strategy Paper and the 2021-2023 Traffic Safety Action Plan were prepared to form a point of reference for the strategy papers, performance programmes, and activities of stakeholder ministries, institutions, and organizations, all of which fulfil specific duties as part of ensuring traffic safety, and play a complementary role in terms of roles, powers, and responsibilities when united together.
The ministries, institutions, and organizations, who have currently done long-term strategy planning, will accommodate the activities they conduct to the objectives specified in this Strategy Paper and Action Plan following its publication, and will resort to determining a framework pertinent to this paper as “top strategy” in the strategic activities they undertake within the Public Finance Management and Control Law No. 5018 henceforth.
To sum up, the 2021-2030 Traffic Safety Strategy Paper determines the strategic roadmap to be followed up by all stakeholder institutions on traffic safety by 2030, and the 2021-2023 Traffic Safety Action Plan constitutes the backbone of the activities to be undertaken on traffic safety by 2023.
One should not forget that the overall objective of all these planning activities is to create a traffic environment, where no one dies or gets seriously injured in traffic accidents by 2050 at the very latest. The 2030 intermediate objective of this overall objective is to reduce the loss of life and injuries in traffic accidents by 50% by 2020.
Under the decision made in the United Nations Traffic Safety 3rd Ministerial Conference congregated in Stockholm, Sweden on 20 February 2020, the World Health Organization will monitor the steps taken by the United Nations member states on traffic safety, and announce the exemplary countries showing success in traffic safety in 2024. Turkey is one of the leading countries being aware of the difficulties had in road safety and putting into practice and following up the implementation of the Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan (2011-2020) in 2012 by being a country providing the highest level of political support in increasing the road safety and a part of the UN Decennial Action Plan (2011-2020). Taking positive steps as part of the 2021-2023 Traffic Safety Action Plan is of capital importance by carrying the same performance onward and following it up by 2023, when is the first stage of the Strategy Paper.
To achieve this objective, the ministries, institutions, or organizations, local administration, and non-governmental organization ranking first elected amongst the ones displaying high performance in decreasing the loss of life, injury, or other losses in traffic accidents will be determined and announced to the public opinion by 2030 to ensure traffic safety with the traffic safety stakeholder ministries, institutions, and organizations centrally, and the local administrations and non-governmental organizations showing the highest level of success locally by taking positive steps in every sense.
To that end, the institutions’ activities, efforts, and contributions of the previous year will be evaluated by an independent panel to be constituted, and it is considered that it will be encouraging to share it with the public opinion by selecting a:
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