The teams of the Istanbul Traffic Department conducted inspections on just under 2 million vehicles and drivers between Jan. 1 and April 30 of the year 2023, reaching a nearly 93% increase with 3.84 million inspections during the same period this year.
According to information compiled from the Istanbul Police Department by Anadolu Agency (AA), Traffic Department teams inspected just under 2 million vehicles and drivers with 2,074 personnel, 269 team vehicles and 264 motorized police units between Jan. 1 and April 30 of 2023.
During the same period this year, 3,329 personnel, 500 team vehicles and 236 motorized units conducted 3.84 million inspections, approaching a nearly 93% increase.
Last year, the teams issued 960,000 traffic fines in the first four months, while this year, during the same period, they applied 1.32 million punitive measures, marking a 37.78% increase.
Despite the increasing traffic issues and accidents in the city, the number of fatalities has decreased compared to the same period of the previous two years.
In the first four months of 2023, there were 45 fatal accidents recorded, while this year during the same period, there were 42 fatal accidents. Among these accidents, 15 were related to motorcycle and motorbike accidents.
While there were 6,818 injury accidents in the first four months of last year, this year saw an increase to 9,039 accidents.
The number of accidents causing damage also increased by 31.89% over the same period in two years. The number of accidents, which was 14,387 in 2023, rose to 18,976 in 2024.
There was an increase in motorcycle and motorbike numbers and a decrease in licensed usage in traffic.
The traffic congestion and shortcomings of public transportation in the mega city have caused people to use motorcycles and motorbikes.
Throughout the year 2023, 631,244 motorcycles and motorbikes were on the roads, while in the first four months of this year, 675,238 of these vehicles were in traffic.
The increased use of motorcycles and motorbikes has also increased accident rates. There were 3,682 accidents involving these vehicles in the first four months of last year, which rose to 6,328 accidents in 2024.
From Jan. 1 to April 30 of 2023, 216,917 motorcycle licenses were issued, while this year during the same period, there was an increase of 20,323, reaching a total of 237,240 licenses.
Although the rate of obtaining licenses seems to have increased, it is noteworthy that despite 43,994 new vehicles on the road this year, 23,671 people did not obtain a license.
