A report by a parliamentary subcommittee on measures to maintain traffic safety in urban centers shows that most accident casualties are people between the ages of 15 and 29. Istanbul, the country's most populated city, leads in the number of accidents. The report says drivers are mainly responsible for 90 percent of accidents that claim the lives of about 5,000 people yearly.
Official figures show that traffic accident casualties vary around 3,000 but the report says the number is higher as the statistics did not include those who succumbed to their injuries after the accident. It also delves into reckless driving notably popular among young people in Istanbul's posh districts. Bağdat, an upscale street on Istanbul's Asian side, is singled out as the favorite venue for speeders with high-powered, expensive cars. In 2016 alone, the street was the scene of nearly 300 accidents, according to the report, though it dropped to 198 in the first nine months of 2017.
The subcommittee urges law enforcement to increase inspections on Bağdat and other streets popular among illegal road racers especially at night.
