Road accidents kill over 6,300 people last year

ANKARA

Road traffic accidents claimed 6,352 lives across Türkiye in 2024, annual data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said on May 7.

A total of 1.44 million traffic accidents were recorded last year, with 1.17 million resulting in only material damage and over 266,000 classified as fatal or injury crashes, TÜİK reported. Of those who lost their lives, 2,713 died at the scene and 3,639 succumbed to injuries in hospitals.

Despite a decrease in the overall death toll — down 3 percent from the previous year — the total number of accidents surged by 9.9 percent compared to 2023.

Fatal and injury crashes rose by 13.5 percent, while property damage-only accidents increased by 9.1 percent. Injuries also climbed by 9.8 percent.

The vast majority of accidents — 85.5 percent — occurred in residential areas, while 14.5 percent took place outside those zones.

The report also noted a sharp rise in the number of vehicles. The country’s fleet expanded from 28.7 million in 2023 to 31.3 million in 2024.

Over the last decade, traffic accidents have killed 62,762 people and injured more than 3 million others in Türkiye, TÜİK data showed.