Road Safety
Death on the roads is a common concern for Turkey and the European Union. In 2007 alone, 43,000 people died on the European roads. This number may seem high, but it still marks a major decline from 71,200 victims in 1991. In Turkey, 4,633 people died in the road accidents in 2006 – a number that is sharply high in comparison to the EU figures.
The European Commission Delegation to Turkey, through its EU Information Centre in Ankara, has joined the Turkish "Trafikte Dikkat 10 Bin Hayat” (Attention to the traffic, save 10,00 lives) platform in an effort to get more Turkish bodies to sign up to the European Road Safety Charter. The EUIC Ankara offers free technical assistance to all parties interested in becoming a signatory to the Charter.
In the European Union, as in Turkey, national campaigns aim to bring down the number of accidents and mortality on the roads. The Road Safety Charter was formulated in 2004 to take this combat against road deaths to the European level, take concrete actions andconcre to share best experiences.
By 2008, the number of signatories to the Charter reached 1,000, ranging from companies, federations, institutions, associations and NGOs. All of these different groups share the same goal: To halve the number of traffic fatalities by 2010.
If you also would like to join this cause, please subscribe to the Charter. In order to do so, you must:
- have concrete actions in the fields of driver training and dissemination of information,
- encourage continuous education actions,
- provide motor vehicle equipment and ergonomics, and infrastructure,
- ensure effective and high-quality medical, psychological and legal assistance for victims of road accidents,
- develop and implement technologies to reduce the impact of traffic accidents.
Share your experiences on a national and international level. Become part of the professional network for cooperation that involve prominent companies, associations and institutions like Michelin, DHL, IKEA and the International Union of Professional Drivers. Contribute to their successful efforts to reduce victim rates and material damage for the countries’ economies caused by the road accidents.
Last update: 7.5.2009