67,000 people killed in traffic accidents across Turkey in 14 years

Noyan Doğan – ISTANBUL

Almost 67,000 people were killed in traffic accidents across Turkey in the past 14 years, according to data from the Turkish General Directorate of Security.

The directorate has released a report on traffic accidents that occurred in the first nine months of 2017.

In the first nine months of the year, 307,000 traffic accidents occurred, killing 2,700 people. More than 232,000 people were wounded in the January - September period.

In the last four years, more than 4 million traffic accidents occurred, killing 21,000 people and injuring more than 674,000.

When calculated on an average basis, the number of those killed on Turkish roads was 7,500 annually, an almost unchanged rate since 2003, according to the report.

The report revealed that traffic accidents in the last 14 years killed four times the number of people who died in the deadliest earthquake in Turkey’s history in 1999, which officials recorded the death toll as 17,000.

Forty-six traffic accidents occur each hour on average across Turkey, and 10 people get killed in traffic accidents on average every day.

At least 21.8 million vehicles – 11.8 million of which were automobiles – were involved in traffic accidents between January and September.

Insurance companies paid 4 billion Turkish Liras in life insurance for those killed, injuries and material damages during the first six months of 2017.

Insurers also paid more than 20.1 billion liras in overall insurances in the last four years.

Some 4.5 billion liras as life insurance benefit and 10 billion were paid for material damages by the companies in the last four years

In the last 14 years, insurers paid 41 billion liras.

This year, traffic insurance paid annually increased by 25 percent when compared to last year.

With the money paid in insurance for car accidents in the past four years, a new Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and a Eurasia Tunnel, both of which carry Istanbul’s heavy population commuting every day between Europe and Asia, can be built.