Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announces intensive nationwide measures to prevent traffic accidents and ensure public safety during the Qurban Bayram, also known as the Eid al-Adha holiday period.
In preparation for the upcoming Qurban Bayram holiday, the Ministry of Interior has launched a wide-scale traffic safety operation involving 68,829 police officers and gendarmerie personnel across the country. Speaking during a live broadcast on A Haber, Minister Yerlikaya outlined comprehensive steps being taken to reduce traffic accidents and safeguard lives during one of the busiest travel seasons of the year.
Yerlikaya explained that a directive outlining the new traffic measures was sent to all provincial governorships on May 26. Emphasizing the peak periods of outbound and return traffic around the holiday, he said, “We have completed all our preparations to ensure safe and peaceful travel. Based on data from previous holidays, we have strengthened our precautions to reduce risks and prevent accidents.”
According to the minister, 17,645 traffic enforcement teams and 33,943 personnel will be deployed on the roads daily, while 1,485 mobile radar units will monitor speed violations both during the day and at night. Yerlikaya highlighted the success of undercover inspections in intercity buses, where plainclothes officers pose as passengers to observe driver behavior and adherence to traffic rules.
“These officers record everything, including how drivers act and whether they comply with the rules,” he said. “They even monitor how their colleagues conduct inspections at checkpoints. At the end of the journey, they identify themselves and report their findings.”
To ensure thorough oversight, police inspectors have been assigned to major intercity bus terminals to supervise the functioning of entry and exit controls, passenger announcements and compliance by transport companies.
Yerlikaya also confirmed that 120 radar devices will be placed at 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) intervals along major highways. He clarified that the objective is not to issue fines but to encourage safe driving behavior. “We don’t aim to penalize citizens. Our only concern is to prevent deaths and injuries on the roads,” he said.
Additionally, the ministry is conducting airborne traffic surveillance across 37 provinces using helicopters and gyrocopters, with drone support across all 81 provinces, accounting for 6,339 hours of flight monitoring.
A temporary travel ban has been placed on heavy vehicles, including trucks, trailers and tankers, to further ease congestion, between June 4 (Wednesday) at 4 p.m. and June 6 (Friday) at 11 a.m. on specified routes. Exceptions will apply to vehicles transporting perishable goods, dairy products, medical supplies and other essentials.
Addressing questions about public safety beyond traffic, Yerlikaya also detailed the government’s efforts to combat organized crime. Since the current cabinet took office, 2,934 operations have been conducted, resulting in 19,565 detentions and 9,011 arrests. Authorities have dismantled 1,151 criminal organizations, seizing assets worth over TL120 billion ($3.6 billion).
Of these, 35 were international, 131 national, 214 regional, and 771 local organizations. Yerlikaya added that 360 Turkish nationals wanted via Interpol red notices have been extradited to Türkiye. At the same time, 972 foreign suspects have been apprehended within the country.
In the fight against drug crimes, the minister said 200 tons and 200 million units of illegal narcotics have been seized and 73,121 suspects have been arrested. Nearly 300 of the dismantled crime groups were linked to drug trafficking.
