Experts oppose raising highway speed limit

The debate over increasing the speed limit to 110 kilometers per hour (about 70 miles per hour) has begun yet again, but experts insist that the idea is a bad one. In a statement earlier this week, Parliament Justice Commission member and Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy Hakkı Köylü announced that legislation to increase the speed limit to 110 kilometers per hour on double-lane divided highways was on the way. He said other speed limits would remain unchanged. Experts in the field, however, have expressed outrage over the news.

Authorities emphasize that the capacity and quality of roads in Turkey are not suitable for a 110 kilometer per hour speed limit, agreeing that if the speed limit is increased, the number of accidents and deaths as a result of speeding will also rise.

Traffic Accident Prevention Association President Hitay Güner, noting that this suggestion has been made in the past, warns that legislation increasing the speed limit would have a harmful outcome. Highway Traffic and Road Safety Research Institute head İhsan Memiş says that if the current limit of 90 kilometers per hour on highways is increased, then this will have negative repercussions on braking distance. Bahçesehir University Transportation Enforcement Research Center Director Dr. Mustafa Ilıcalı, who lost five family members in a speeding accident, is also opposed to a speed limit increase.

Increasing the speed limit has been an on-again, off-again topic on Parliament's agenda. While the addition of more and more divided highways in Turkey has led to a decrease in the number of traffic accidents, speeding still represents a formidable danger on the road. According to the most recent data, 19 percent of drivers on Turkish roads violate the speed limit, while 13 percent of traffic accidents are attributed to speeding. Research shows that the odds of dying in an accident that occurs when a vehicle is traveling at 80 kilometers per hour are 20 times that of a vehicle traveling at 32 kilometers per hour.

Traffic experts say that the plan to increase the speed limit is just plain dangerous. When compared to drivers in Europe, Turkish motorists fall short, and the 90 kilometer per hour limit is the highest it can be without significantly increasing the number of accidents and traffic deaths, they say.

‘I lost my family to speeding’

Professor Ilıcalı of Bahçeşehir University draws attention to the high number of car accidents caused by speeding. For him, the fact that most deaths in car accidents involve speeding is supported by more than mere statistics -- he lost five family members in an accident caused by speeding, including both of his parents. Ilıcalı notes that Turkish drivers have a particular propensity toward speeding when it comes to traffic violations, and strongly opposes increasing the speed limit.

Highway Traffic and Road Safety Research Institute head Memiş agrees with Ilıcalı, noting that drivers between the ages of 18 and 25 are the most frequent violators of the speed limit. He says this demographic will be threatened directly by any speed limit increase and they will cause more accidents. “Driver education in Turkey is insufficient as it is -- with increasing speed, it is more difficult to control the vehicle. Considering the 10 percent leeway [for driving citations], this means that vehicles will be traveling at speeds of up to 130 kilometers an hour,” he emphasized.

Not everyone is opposed to the speed limit increase, though. A somewhat lonely voice on this issue, Sami Güleçyüz, head of the association of Honorary Traffic Controllers -- citizens with the training and authority to issue traffic citations -- is in favor of increasing the speed limit. He says the number of accidents will not increase and thinks it a positive alternative to writing so many speeding tickets.