Basic Values in Traffic and Traffic Psychology of Turkish People

"If you want to measure the level of civilisation of a society, look at how women are treated," says our Great Leader Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Of course, it is not our place to comment on Atatürk's words. I only intend to make a small addition due to the indifference and disregard for rules we live in.

When we look at the traffic order of civilised societies and societies that have not yet absorbed civilisation, it is impossible not to see the obvious difference between them. The implementation or non-implementation of the established traffic culture and universal basic values in societies directly affects the peace and trust of that society. The respect, cooperation, patience, sense of responsibility, empathy and tolerance of people in every environment, especially in traffic, are as important values as traffic rules in terms of ensuring traffic order in society. Moreover, people who lack these basic values cannot be expected to obey traffic rules.

Hundreds of traffic accidents occur in our country every year and thousands of people lose their lives. In addition to these, the damages caused to the national wealth and the courts spending a considerable amount of time on these incidents is another dimension of the work. Along with the lives lost, billions of liras of national wealth is also a significant burden on our economy.

In 2021, 217,735 man-made accidents occurred (the accident situation report for 2022 has not yet been published). Of these, 92,586 were accidents caused by insomnia, fatigue, excessive speed and alcohol, 102783 were caused by drivers' disrespectful and unruly driving, 3941 were caused by the passengers in the vehicle, especially not wearing seat belts, and 18,398 were pedestrian violations. This statistical information does not include accidents caused by the structure of the road. The fact that people get behind the wheel tired, sleep deprived and intoxicated, speeding, not adapting the speed of the vehicle to the conditions required by the road, weather and traffic means that drivers do not care about human life. Especially those who do this job as a profession but lack basic values and do not obey traffic rules are murderous creatures who do not respect their profession and do not have a share of humanity. The number of accidents caused by the non-serious behaviour of our passengers in the vehicle and the violation of pedestrians is also considerable.

What can be the difference between killing a person with a gun and using the vehicle as a weapon to kill and injure people and property? When driving a lorry, ignoring small vehicles travelling in traffic, squeezing them and causing them to have accidents by saying "nothing will happen to me anyway" should be nothing but a murderous selfishness. Especially our behaviour towards motorcyclists, ignoring them, usurping their rights is a product of the same selfishness. Of course, it is not an acceptable behaviour for the majority of our motorcyclists not to see themselves as a normal land vehicle, not to follow the lane allocated to them in the traffic, to try to pass through, to try to provide vehicles, to disregard their own lives, not to wear helmets, not to use protective equipment.

One of the most important problems in urban traffic is that drivers change lanes or turn without signalling. However, signal is one of the most important traffic rules regulating traffic. Some drivers act without knowing that the signal is only a warning sign even if they have signalled. A driver who gives a signal should check the opposite direction, the lane he/she will pass and the road he/she will turn before starting his/her movement, and if the traffic is available, he/she should make the necessary movement. In addition, it is nothing but selfishness and disrespect not to provide convenience to a driver who signals to change lanes or make a turn. Drivers should empathise in this situation. You are going to make a turn, you have given your signal, and there is no other exit for the place where you are going to turn. What would you think if the vehicles behind you, instead of giving way to you, increase their speed even more and prevent you from turning and you miss this exit? The sign says "Last exit before the bridge" and you miss this exit because of disrespectful and selfish drivers. Sorry to hear that.

Not recognising the rules, running red lights, turning in the middle of the lane without approaching the turn lane, turning without signalling, not obeying the speed limits, using mobile phones in the vehicle, honking at the vehicle in front as soon as the yellow light turns on while waiting for the red light, not giving priority to pedestrians, not giving way to the ambulance, I think it is not normal human behaviour to show no patience to a vehicle trying to leave a parking space in accordance with the rules, to park inside intersections, to park in a way to block turns, to not signal before turning and changing lanes, to speed excessively and to drive in a way that endangers traffic safety by not obeying any rules. Obviously, there are serious problems in our mood and traffic culture.

In order to become a car driver, certain documents are required when obtaining a driving licence. Anyone who is at least a primary school graduate, who has not been involved in terrorism and drug crimes and who receives a driver's licence report from a single physician can get a driving licence. The most important of these is the health report. As it is known, the consent of a single physician is sufficient to obtain a health report. In addition to this, those who have eye, ear, etc. problems are also seen by a specialist physician and can register for driving courses by obtaining a second group driver's licence report. However, the psychological condition of any candidate is not taken into consideration except for candidates who have an official record in psychiatry. It is expected that people with psychological disorders will continue to use their vehicle as a weapon after obtaining their driving licence. Just as we get a report from at least six doctors when obtaining a gun licence and have it approved by the health board, shouldn't we get a soundness report from at least the main branches such as psychiatry, orthopedics, eye and ear, including psychotechnical report, in order to use a vehicle that is at least as dangerous as a weapon and directly related to human life?

In addition, the foundations of a correct traffic culture start from the family. We support this with education and continue our lives in peace and security. The deterrence of traffic fines may be effective to some extent, but it is possible for the traffic monster to awaken in us wherever there is no control. If the issue is to create a peaceful and safe traffic environment and to secure the property and life of people, it is necessary to give more importance to the education side of this work. The subject of traffic safety and basic values, in other words traffic etiquette, should be taught effectively at all levels of education, starting from kindergarten classes, and the situation should be disseminated to all segments of the society.

Finally, the more difficult it is to obtain a driving licence, the more traffic safety will be improved. The 16 hours of practical training received from driving schools is never enough for a candidate to get on the road. Of course, there should be a lower limit for these trainings, but it is absurd to take the driving licence exam for a candidate who is not qualified to drive on traffic. But no matter what, driving by a person who is mentally unhealthy, who does not know traffic etiquette, who lacks respect, love, patience, responsibility, cooperation, tolerance and empathy, who is selfish and psychologically disturbed cannot prevent the society from being in constant danger. This is where civilisation comes into play. Since well-educated civilised societies have solved this issue, there is no obstacle for us to solve it.

I would like to make a small addition here to the aphorism of our ancestor, which I quoted at the beginning of my article on civilisation.

"If you want to measure the level of civilisation of a society, look at how women are treated, how much traffic manners and traffic rules are obeyed."

I wish you accident-free, trouble-free and safe driving.