A call to the Turkish government to address gaps in seat-belt legislation

Each year, approximately 8,700 people die and 200,000 people are injured due to road crashes in Turkey. Addressing gaps in seat-belt legislation and robustly enforcing seat-belt legislation is one important way to address this humanitarian crisis. The Turkish Red Crescent Society, with funding from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Road Safety Grants Programme, is working to address this.

On 13 November, the Turkish Red Crescent Society held a press conference to call attention to the 59 deaths reported on Turkish roads during the Bayram (Eid) holiday. The Turkish Red Crescent Society went on to call on the Turkish government to address gaps in current national seat-belt legislation which allow certain motor vehicle drivers and passengers to ride without seat-belts. The press conference generated significant media coverage and contributes to Turkish Red Crescent Society’s goal of persuading the government to address this major policy gap. This media work is component of a robust policy advocacy campaign conducted along with GRSP and our partners at the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT).