1 traffic accident occurs every 29 seconds in Turkey, report reveals

The report, “Türkiye'de ve dünyada da trafik kazalarının önemi” (The significance of traffic accidents in Turkey and the world), highlighted other significant facts as well. According to the report, 10.7 million traffic accidents took place between 1970 and 2009 across Turkey.

The report also found that 3.2 million people sustained injuries while 207,443 persons have lost their lives in traffic accidents in the last 40 years.

The total number of accidents was the highest in 1986 -- 92,468. A total of 7,278 people were killed in traffic accidents that year, while 71,445 were injured. On the other hand, traffic accidents in 2009 left 201,380 persons injured, the highest number of people injured in traffic accidents in a year.

Although the number of traffic accidents has increased in recent years, the number of fatalities in traffic accidents has fallen. However, the figures are potentially misleading because the deaths that occur elsewhere other than the scene of traffic accidents are not always recorded. Akdur's report revealed that information about those who die in hospitals after an accident is not always included in accident reports. Therefore, to paint a clearer picture of the exact number of people killed in accidents, accident reports should also include information on deaths that occur after the incident.

“Turkey is no worse than other countries with regards to the number of people killed in traffic accidents; only the number of those injured in accidents is higher here in Turkey,” claimed the report.

“Traffic accidents should be carefully recorded so as to make detailed comparisons about the number of accidents and the number of those killed or injured between different countries and Turkey,” noted the report. Additionally, gendarmerie traffic accident reports, including the number of those killed or injured in such incidents, should also be taken into consideration when compiling information on traffic accidents in order to have a clearer picture of the situation.

In 1965, a traffic accident took place every 36 minutes in Turkey, according to Aldur's report. This figure was one every eight minutes in 1985, one every two minutes in 1995 and one every 52 seconds in 2005.