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More than 62,000 people lost their lives and over 3 million were injured in road traffic accidents across Türkiye over the past decade, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
In 2024 alone, traffic accidents resulted in 6,352 deaths and 385,117 injuries out of a total of 1.44 million reported incidents. The number of accidents increased by 9.88% compared to the previous year, with 1.18 million involving only property damage and 266,855 classified as fatal or involving injuries.
Despite the overall rise in accidents, the fatality rate per 100,000 registered vehicles declined. In 2023, there were 22.8 fatalities per 100,000 vehicles, compared to 20.3 in 2024.
Of the injury- or death-related accidents recorded last year, 85.5% occurred within residential areas, while 14.5% took place outside city limits.
Ankara reported the highest number of fatalities, with 325 deaths, while Istanbul had the highest number of injuries at 41,414. In contrast, the province of Ardahan recorded the fewest fatalities with 4 deaths, and Bayburt had the lowest injury count at 331.
Analysis of the 2024 traffic fatalities revealed that 48.4% of those killed were drivers, 30.6% were passengers, and 21% were pedestrians. Gender distribution showed that 76.2% of the deceased were men, while women accounted for 23.8%. Among the injured, 69.3% were male and 30.7% female.
Over the past 10 years, a total of 28,008 drivers, 20,646 passengers, and 14,108 pedestrians have died in traffic-related incidents.
Driver error continues to be the dominant cause of road accidents. Of the 318,926 recorded faults contributing to accidents in 2024, 90.1% were attributed to drivers, 8.2% to pedestrians, 0.8% to vehicles, 0.5% to passengers, and 0.3% to road conditions.
The most common driver error was failure to adjust vehicle speed according to road, weather, or traffic conditions, which accounted for 105,802 cases. Disregarding right-of-way rules at intersections was the second most frequent fault with 46,458 cases, followed by failure to follow general maneuvering rules, cited in 26,487 cases.
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