A few weeks ago, me and the good lady spent a few wonderful days in the enchanting Anatolian town of Amasya. For those that haven't been, I advise you to pay a visit, such an amazing place.
After breakfast on our first day we decided to take a walk along the banks of the beautiful Yesilirmak River. Having to cross the road, we stood by the kerb and waited for the long train like line of traffic to pass. Then an incident, so shocking happened as to leave me speechless and in need of emergency care!. A car slowed down, stopped and waved us across the road!. Now, for anyone that has experienced Turkish traffic then you will understand my consternation at this act of manners by a driver in Turkey. In short, it is about as regular as constipation!
After my wife had pulled me away from kissing the feet of the driver in question, we continued on our way and put it down to a lapse in driver concentration and perhaps his heal became caught in the break pedal. However, no!, it was a regular thing!. Most times as we crossed the road to go anywhere, the oncoming vehicle would with due consideration slow down and wave us across! After, when I thought about it, I concluded that it was actually quite sad to be shocked at the actions of Amasya's drivers.
Turkey as most know is a dangerous place to partake in road travel. Although having travelled in all corners of the globe and having driven in places like Thailand and the challenging six lane highways of the USA, I still refuse to savor the experience in Turkey. Although I usually travel by public transport, some would argue it is worse. On a recent bus journey from Antalya to Ankara, I witnessed, within the first hour of the seven hour journey the driver: smoke, talk on his telephone, remove his jacket and drink a coffee. All while transporting his full load of human cargo to the capital. So relaxed was he, I left my seat to scrutinize the dashboard for the automatic pilot button!
After personally witnessing a tragic amount of road traffic accidents in the years I have been here, I suspected that Turkey had to have the worse road traffic rates in the world. The reality though is that it doesn't even come close to winning that most unwanted of accolades. Results released by the World Health Ranking website (see link) records that in the latest figures published for the year 2011, per 100,000 citizens there were nine deaths annually in Turkey. A number that seems amazingly low. By comparison the UK recorded 4.8 deaths by 100,00. Turkey it concludes is a safer place to drive then such places as Belgium, Russia, New Zealand and amazingly the USA, which records 13.9 deaths per 100,000!
Nonetheless though, as Mark Twain so rightly expressed " facts are stubborn but statistics are more pliable". The nine deaths per 100,000 actually equate to the real life figure of over 2500, men, woman and children who tragically lost their life's in a road traffic accident during 2011. Now to put that in context, the cataclysmic 2011 Van earthquake resulted in the recorded deaths of 604 poor souls.
After perusing over a publication tiled "traffic accident statistics" ( published by the Turkish directorate for public safety, a publication in English as well as Turkish (see link), I can inform you of this
1). Any Tuesday in March is the safest time to travel in Turkey!.
2) Any Saturday in July is the most dangerous time to travel in Turkey!
3). The number of actual road traffic accidents has almost doubled since 2002! (although death and injury show a slight decreases)
Now, I know what you are thinking, " for Christ sake Westy you need to get out more"!
There is of course a very serious side to all this though. I am sure those that have resided in Turkey have on one or more occasion heard the expression " life is cheap here". They actually couldn't be more wrong! The sad loss of life of someone in a road traffic accident is paid for in the grief experienced by husbands, wifes, children, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters all across this beautiful land.
Unfortunately, I speak from experience. My family sadly experienced this indescribable grief when my eldest sister was killed in a road traffic accident. She was sixteen years old. The cloak of sadness and loss never ever leaves you. The act of having to go to a mortuary to identify the body of his first born child has haunted my Father ever since. Believe me never was a saying so untrue as the "life is cheap" one!
So, what makes the usual polite, caring and respectful Turk slide into a driver seat and display all the hallmarks of a homicidal maniac!. It goes without question traffic education is obviously lacking. It is only in recent years that driving lessons and test where actually taken in real live traffic. Before, they were conducted on specially made tracks just like the ones that your school would take you to pass your cycling proficiency badge!. However, the education has to come from the Government who seem to be oblivious to the human slaughter that happens on it's roads daily!.In eleven years I have still to witness one public information film to promote public awareness on road safety.
Returning to my earlier story of the mild mannered drivers of Amasya. Whilst there, we remarked to a taxi driver how calm the traffic driving was in his town compared to other places in Turkey. He informed us that the local Belidiye Baskan, effectively the mayor, had embarked on a long campaign on improving road safety in the area. Organizing strict punishments for any public official not obeying traffic rules and evoking taxi licenses for taxi drivers not using seat belts or caught using mobile phones. He then pointed to the abundance of " seat belts save lifes" posters all over the town. Education works!
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| The Mayor of Amasya - leading by example |
However, is there something even more worrying that is the root cause?.
Turkey is mostly a devoted Islamic nation, even though some may show the hallmarks of not practicing their faith, you will have to go a long way to find someone who denounces it. Now, I maybe being slightly controversial here, yet I personally wonder if this has an effect on driving standards within Turkey.
"Allah Korusun" is something you will see often in the front of buses, on the side and front of lorries and sometimes on the back of a car. Roughly translated it translates as " may God protect". Is it beyond the realms of possibility that some drivers literally drive a vehicle under the conviction that no matter what, God will protect them?. One could also say under a conviction that whatever happens the hand of God will determine what will happen on the journey and the driver has no real control. If this is true then it is a serious and traumatizing thought!.
One wonders if they were stood on top of a minuet at the local mosque with "Allah Korusun" imprinted on the wings and in the style of Icarus, jump. All the while believing that "God will protect". They wouldn't of course, however they maybe be putting their believe and trust in God, to drive without any due care or attention to themselves or others. As is the way though in a lot of cases, they survive but an innocent bystander loses their life!
I look on in stupefaction at a parent that is so attentive to their child, running to the nearest doctor at the slightest fever. A parent who protects their child and like a good parent ensures they eat well, wear accordingly to the weather as to not get a chill. Then will happily sit the child in the front seat of their car without a seat belt and drive moronically.
Oh well, one final statistic, whilst I have been typing this, statistically somewhere in Turkey two more people have lost their life's in an RTA! Whoever they were, I hope they rest in peace and I will spare a thought for the pain their loved ones will be going though in the long sorrow filled days and years ahead.
Drive safely!
Westy
