One hundred people lost their lives and 441 were left injured. Holidays and deaths. Are we not obliged to reconsider Turkey's traffic problems and accidents? Let us stop pretending to be doing something and start taking action. Over the course of 25 years, we have lost tens of thousands of people in the fight against terrorism. According to statistics released by the General Security Directorate, in 10 years alone there were 6 million traffic accidents, which killed 47,000 people and wounded close to 1.5 million. In other words, we are facing a social disaster similar to terrorism. There are many reasons for accidents. In my opinion, there are two major causes of traffic problems and accidents: disrespect for people and disrespect for law.
Indeed, when a person gets behind the wheel, he thinks, “Me and only me.” It was about 15 years ago when I was driving in heavy rain one day. I could barely make out what was in front of me, but I saw a pigeon in the middle of the road. It was obvious that is could not fly, so I slowed down. At that moment, I came head-to-head with another car, but there was no collision. The driver of the other car used obscene hand gestures to curse at me. He rolled down his window and tried to provoke me into a fight. I also rolled down my window, but was surprised to see who I saw. It was a friend I saw almost every week. You had to see the regret and embarrassment on his face.
Psychologists and sociologists have an important task ahead of them. Why do we change when we get behind the wheel? Do emotions that have been suppressed come out? Are we constantly oppressed and therefore take out our anger on others? Do we feel neglected and therefore try to prove our importance in traffic? Do people constantly trick us in one way or another and therefore we feel the need to prove our alertness to each other in traffic? What is up with us?
Why are drivers in America and Europe respectful toward other drivers and pedestrians, but not in Turkey? Indeed there are heavy penalties for traffic violations in those countries and no one is exempt from them. But is that the only reason? While in those countries, the driver who first approaches an intersection has the right of way, in Turkey being shrewd and disrespectful is considered a merit. Then there are the harassers. They refuse to give you space in the lane and try to cut you off. As if that is not enough, they even go so far as to kill people. Dare you cut their way or do something wrong to the “king of the world,” they block your path and shoot you right in the head.
The one thing I tell those close to me is, do not get involved. In those kinds of situations, the most manly action to take is to avoid getting into a fight. God forbid we could lose our life over nonsense when we should be trying to serve our religion, country and people.
The second cause of traffic related problems and accidents is disrespect toward law. I wonder if there is any other country in the world that perceives violating the law as an ability or cleverness as much as we do. Indeed, governments have important business to take care of, but can't they provide proper education on respecting people and the law? Is it not possible to provide this education starting from kindergarten, and to provide it properly?
I visited a Turkish school in a state located in the most northern part of the US. The school accepts students from Turkey for a year of education. The biggest complaint of the school administrators was that Turkish students always pressed the alarm button during recess, which immediately notifies authorities to dispatch firefighters, police officers and ambulances to the school. The neighborhood is distressed over the situation. I asked why American students don't press the button. They have been taught differently and do not understand why Turkish students press the alarm. They say, “Why would anyone press the alarm button for no reason?”
The people commissioned to enforce the law are not or cannot fulfill their responsibilities. Not everyone can be punished. Some people just ignore violations if they are paid a small bribe. The infrastructure of cities is insufficient. Apartment dwellers are charged a parking spot fee but there is no parking spot. I still insist that fines will deter the nation from violating the law. A campaign should be launched and the media should support it. Fines should be imposed and the media should constantly cite the reasons for the fines.
Let me add a point for those who believe in God. The esteemed Fethullah Gülen has said: “Traffic laws are determined after serious studies. A person that violates the law and dies in a car accident will have committed suicide if that person is alone. If others in the car have been killed, then that person will have committed murder. Why do people take these laws lightly?”
Driving a vehicle is a test of a person's respect toward other people.
