Fatal Road Accidents Six Time Higher in TRNC

Fatal accident on Kyrenia mountain road

The country is sleepwalking when it comes to addressing road safety, Ayer Yarkıner, head of the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers (MMO), said, Yeniduzen reports.

Yarkıner pointed out that the rate of fatal accidents is six times higher than in the European Union.

He said, “If our traffic system has remained this primitive and unsafe, it’s because we’ve been in a deathly sleep about this issue since 1974“. Yarkıner stressed that strategies and plans should aim for “zero deaths in traffic“, adding that the Chamber is always ready to help.

In his statement, Yarkıner highlighted the following necessary measures:

As the weight of vehicles increases, the severity of collisions increases and braking ability decreases. Therefore, speed limits should be set according to vehicle classes.

Since mountain roads are not symmetrical, the centre road markings are incorrect and need to be fixed.

The safety vulnerabilities and risks on roads should be identified, and proper warnings should be placed. If these warnings are not made, the Highways Department would be held responsible for any accidents that occur.

The Dikmen-Boğaz road is dangerous and should not be opened to traffic. At the end of the road, there is a very deep, unsafe shoulder that could lead to loss of life in an accident. In case of an accident on this road, both the official body and the driver would share responsibility.

Tachographs should be mandatory for heavy-duty vehicles, and their speed should be limited to a maximum of 85 km/h.

Vehicles imported into the country must have technology to protect pedestrians, maintain lane discipline, keep a safe distance from the vehicle ahead, read speed limits, and measure total weight according to the manufacturer’s axle load specifications.

Fatal accident rate six times higher

Yarkıner noted that the impact of new regulations would only be seen after five years but said that these safety measures have already been made into law in European Union countries and Turkey. He stated, “Because these regulations are not in place in our country, vehicles lacking global safety equipment are being imported“.

He added that the rate of fatal collisions in North Cyprus is six times higher than in the European Union and three times higher than in Turkey. Yarkıner warned that the rise in vehicles and population could increase the number of accidents, and the suggested safety measures need to be implemented to prevent further deaths.

Yarkıner also mentioned that a planned system by the Ministry of Transport to monitor speed and axle loads should be installed on major roads, as a 40-ton vehicle has 6,000 times the impact on the road’s service life compared to a one ton vehicle.

He pointed out that workers coming to the island for employment are being allowed to drive 30-40 ton trucks despite having inadequate training or equipment and stressed that vehicle inspection stations should not be privatised or turned into profit-driven operations.

Yeniduzen

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