73 killed, 437 injured in traffic accidents across Turkey in first seven days of public holiday

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

Some 73 people lost their lives and 437 were injured in road accidents across Turkey in the first seven days of the 10-day long public holiday, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Sept.2.

In first six days of public holiday, numbers of traffic accidents occurred due to excessive speed and carelessness across Turkey despite tightened security measurements.

A total of 11 people were killed, 97 of them were injured in different accidents in Istanbul, in Ankara, in the Aegean provinces of İzmir, the Black Sea provinces of Ordu, Trabzon and Amasya, in the central Anatolian provinces of Nevşehir and Osmaniye.

The death toll in car accidents across Turkey rose to 73 from 62 in one day.

On the sixth day of the holiday alone, Aug. 31, 13 people were killed and 67 were injured in accidents across the country, the agency stated. 

In a first this year, the Interior Ministry has been sending warnings to drivers via text message to their mobile phones when they stop on roads that are particularly prone to accidents. The message reads: “You are on a road where a high number of fatal accidents occur on holidays. Please abide by the rules. Do not exceed the speed limit. Fasten all seatbelts. Eid Mubarak.”

The ministry has also used Twitter to warn drivers, especially of heavy vehicles and buses, about road accidents.