It can be hard to find a functioning seatbelt in an Istanbul taxicab, and when I do, I think twice about putting it on. Why? Because it always seems to outrage the driver — and sometimes leaves me having to defend my very identity as a Turk.

Awkwardness with a cabby was the least of my concerns when a taxi I was in recently started lurching forward at 100 kilometers per hour (62 m.p.h.), more than triple the road’s speed limit.

When the driver heard the click of the buckle, he started uttering, “Op, op, op,” a sound Turks use to get someone’s attention. I met his offended gaze in the rearview mirror.

“Why did you do that?” he demanded. “I can drive!”

Other times, drivers have brushed aside my grasp for safety. “The belt is just an accessory — it doesn’t do anything,” one insisted. Another fairly spat, “This is a car, not a helicopter!”