16.10.2025 19:16
According to the bill proposing amendments to the Traffic Law, which is expected to be discussed in the Parliament this week; those who get out of their vehicles with the intent to attack will face a fine of 180,000 TL, those driving under the influence will be fined 25,000 TL, those causing noise will be fined 16,000 TL, those talking on the phone while driving will face a fine of 5,000 TL, and not wearing a seatbelt will result in a fine of 2,500 TL.
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A new regulation on traffic fines is coming. According to the draft law on amendments to the Traffic Law, which is expected to be discussed in the Turkish Grand National Assembly this week, traffic fines imposed on drivers will increase gradually in case of repeated offenses. It is expected that record fines will be imposed on individuals who endanger traffic safety.
"A FINE OF 180 THOUSAND TL WILL BE IMPOSED ON THOSE WHO GET OUT OF THEIR VEHICLE IN TRAFFIC" The President of the Traffic Rights Association, Yasemin Usta, stated, "There will be a gradual increase in fines related to speeding based on the increase in speed limits. Just like abroad, there will be much more serious penalties when fines are repeated. The fine for not wearing a seatbelt is currently 993 TL. It is not very deterrent; it is expected to be 2,500 TL. The fine for running a red light is currently 2,168 TL, and it will be 5,000 TL for the first offense, and of course, these will continue to increase for the second offense, as we lose a life every three days at red lights. A fine of 180,000 TL will be imposed if you get out of your vehicle with the intent to attack in traffic. If you are driving under the influence, the fine will be 25,000 TL, and if you are talking on the phone while driving, it will be 5,000 TL, but these are for the first rule violation. If you violate the same rule a second time, it will mean that it has become a habit, and much more serious penalties will be applied."
Some drivers believe that the new fines will be deterrent, while others say that confiscating licenses with the new draft will be a heavy penalty for drivers.
"WE HAVE LOST MORE THAN 62 THOUSAND LIVES IN ACCIDENTS IN 10 YEARS" Yasemin Usta stated, "In the last 10 years in our country, we have lost more than 62,000 lives in traffic accidents; more than 3 million people have been injured. 90% of these accidents are caused by preventable driver faults. Unfortunately, I have also experienced serious pain due to drivers who do not obey the rules. I lost my cousin in an accident, and in another accident, my sister and nephew narrowly escaped death. To say 'Stop' to these losses of life in traffic accidents, we established the Traffic Rights Association in 2015. Our goal is to prevent these accidents with more deterrent penalties. In this context, our association's proposal was accepted by the Presidential General Directive. Our proposal in the 2024-2027 Road Traffic Safety Action Plan was to research and strengthen the deterrent effect of administrative penalties for traffic rule violations. Thank you to our Ministry of Interior for conducting serious research in this regard."
"THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR CONDUCTED RESEARCH IN 33 COUNTRIES FOR THE DRAFT LAW" Usta stated, "Our consultants at the Ministry of Interior researched administrative fines and their effects in 33 countries before preparing this draft law. When we look at the countries where research was conducted and those with low traffic accidents and fatalities; in Finland, fines are imposed according to income levels. For example, in 2023, a businessman was fined 121,000 Euros for driving at 82 kilometers per hour on a road where he was supposed to go at 50 kilometers per hour, which corresponds to about 5 million 800 thousand TL in our currency. In Germany, there are also very serious penalties for driving under the influence. A driver with a blood alcohol level between 0.5 and 1.0 is fined between 500 Euros and 1,500 Euros. Points are added to their license, and they are banned from driving for 1 to 2 months. When we look at these countries, we see that as fines increase, they contribute to traffic safety. Similarly, when our draft law currently in parliament is passed, it will have a significant impact on traffic safety. It will lead to a decrease in accidents and fatalities, and we will all see the visible results of this together. I believe in this."
"OUR PEOPLE DO NOT PERCEIVE TRAFFIC RULE VIOLATION AS A CRIME" Usta expressed that they expect the draft law to be discussed in parliament this week, stating, "It is very important for it to pass as soon as possible because when we look at the research conducted, our people do not perceive traffic rule violations as a crime. Surveys have been conducted; we see theft as a more disgraceful crime, but we do not see a traffic rule violation that could result in death as a crime. Participants were asked the following question: 'If you caused an accident due to 100% your own fault, would you prefer to die yourself or the other party?' In face-to-face interviews, 83% said, 'I would prefer to die myself.' When it turned into an anonymous survey, 60% said, 'I would prefer the other party to lose their life.' Unfortunately, this is a situation stemming from our perception of impunity. These rules and penalties exist to ensure this safety. There have been unjust criticisms from some groups. This is very sad because to ensure traffic safety; just as we are not penalized for theft as long as we do not steal someone else's property, you will not be fined if you do not violate traffic rules," she said.
"25 THOUSAND TL FOR DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, 5 THOUSAND TL FOR TALKING ON THE PHONE" Usta stated, "There will be a gradual increase in fines related to speeding based on the increase in speed limits, just like abroad. When fines are repeated, there will be much more serious penalties. The fine for not wearing a seatbelt is currently 993 TL; it is not very deterrent; it is expected to be 2,500 TL. The fine for running a red light is currently 2,168 TL; it will be 5,000 TL for the first offense, and of course, these will continue to increase for the second offense, as we lose a life every three days in traffic accidents. We sometimes face problems when not giving way to ambulances, and this is sometimes reflected in the media. There will also be a fine of 46,000 TL for that. There are serious increases, and we will all witness their effects with a decrease in traffic accidents in a short time. When our Ministry of Interior and our Ministry of Justice also adopt more deterrent penalty policies, just like abroad, their goal is zero error, zero accident. Why can't we achieve this? If they succeeded, we can succeed too; but we need the serious support of our people from here. Please obey the rules. A fine of 180,000 TL will be imposed if you get out of your vehicle with the intent to attack in traffic, if you are driving under the influence, the fine will be 25,000 TL, and if you are talking on the phone while driving, it will be 5,000 TL."
"As a traffic victim, I say this. I am one of the millions who have experienced this pain," he said.
"GETTING THEIR LICENSE IS A BIT STRICT" Driver Mertcan Yüce stated, "I think it is necessary, especially for Istanbul. They do not obey any rules, and by violating the emergency lanes, they are putting traffic in great danger, especially by merging lately."
Driver Önder Demirci said, "Fines should be increased; if they are not deterrent, no one cares about the fines if no one gets hurt. By the way, there are those who do not pay their fines. Despite the fines being issued, there are those who do not obey traffic rules. We are constantly troubled by traffic because we are in traffic due to our work. Especially, watching while using the phone causes more congestion in traffic. We are very troubled by these."
Mürsel Kılıç, who said a driver talking on the phone hit him while he was going to work in the morning, stated, "I think it is necessary. Someone hit me from behind while I was talking on the phone in the morning. It just happened while I was going to work. I agree, I support it. Getting their license is a bit strict; especially for phone conversations, they are justified for alcohol, but they could perhaps restrict getting a license for phone conversations on the third offense."
"THE NUMBERS NEED TO RISE A BIT" Another driver said, "I think it is necessary; I believe it will be deterrent. Because most of our friends or users, that is, none of the drivers comply with these rules. They think, 'I will pay anyway, it will pass with this much.' The correct thing is for the fines to be high, and we should make it more deterrent by increasing it a little more each time."
Ilhan Bitkan, who said fines should be increased to be deterrent, stated, "I think the draft law regarding traffic violations is quite good and successful because the higher the fines, the more it will deter the public, that is, those who violate the rules. The increase from 900 to over 2 thousand TL is a bit low; the numbers need to rise a bit. I think as we raise this, rule violations will decrease."