Is the average citizen a sitting duck to be plucked?

Of course not, or rather, they shouldn't be...

However, the government sees it exactly that way.

Just as we were gasping for air under the weight of taxes, we suddenly found that they have started leaning heavily on traffic fines to close the black hole in the budget they have been squandering.

The excuse is ready!

Supposedly, it's for our own good.

Before the holiday, Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya said, "I am telling our citizens who will use the highways specifically that there is a radar every 30 kilometers, day and night. We will have 120 radars on the highways. We have no intention of taking administrative action against our citizens, or in colloquial terms, writing tickets. We have only one concern: that there be no loss of life or injuries in traffic."

Who wouldn't be a sensitive citizen and have their eyes well up with tears at these sentences!

How they care about us, and so on...

Sure, if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you!

As if they value human life so much...

As Orhan Veli said, forget all that, my dear friend...

Since 2002, there have been hundreds, perhaps thousands of examples. From the accident in İliç to the Hatay earthquake, from the Soma mine disaster to the hotel fire in Kartalkaya...

The list is endless...

Unfortunately, human life in Turkey is cheaper than water. Don't be fooled by their fancy words; we know very well that in their eyes, we aren't worth a dime.

This is just cheap propaganda material they use to "pretend" they care...

That is why no one should come out and try to push the narrative on us regarding the radar traps set up every 30 kilometers, claiming, "Sir, traffic fines are for deterrence and for the good of our people."

Let's say you had to leave home in a hurry and forgot your driver's license. If the police stop you, they issue a fine of 2,167 liras.

Your crime is "Not Carrying a Driver's License."

Yet, after asking for your Turkish ID number, they could easily access and check your driver's license from their own system.

Let's be clear; since they couldn't impose more taxes, they took the easy way out and squeezed the people with fines to cover the budget deficit.

Actually, they didn't even do this in secret.

The previous year, they had set a target of 20 billion liras for traffic fines in the budget. But, saying "the master's hand is never empty," they collected a full 44 billion liras from the people under the name of "traffic fines." Seeing that this business was running smoothly and no one was complaining, they updated the target for 2025 to 55 billion liras.

Since they collected twice the target they set in 2024, they went full throttle, saying, "Who can stop us now?" In just the first four months of the year, they issued 53.3 billion liras in fines to the people.

They have almost reached the target. Let's not be surprised if they hit 150 billion liras by December 31.

This figure is even higher than the budgets of most ministries in the country. For example, the Ministry of Trade has a budget size of 56 billion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 39 billion, the Ministry of Energy 45 billion, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism 53 billion...

In other words, looking at the numbers is enough to understand that the issue is not "deterrence"!

Despite this, were they able to prevent accidents and loss of life?

Of course not.

Ali Yerlikaya announced, "During the Eid al-Adha holiday, 3,913 traffic accidents occurred. Unfortunately, 44 of our citizens lost their lives at the scene in these accidents, and 6,370 of our citizens were injured."

So, what does this mean? Putting a radar every 30 kilometers, dropping the speed limit repeatedly from 110 to 30 kilometers, and lying in ambush under a tree does not solve the problem.

Moreover, people have become unable to focus on the road because they are busy tracking radars and speed signs.

While you are cruising on a smooth dual carriageway with the needle at 110, you suddenly see that the speed limit has dropped to 70.

While you are panicking and hitting the brakes to try to drop your speed to 70, and you haven't even gone 150-200 meters, boom, the speed limit becomes 30.

Another painful brake!

Your left eye is on the speedometer, and your right eye is on the AI-supported radar device lying in ambush behind the tree next to the 30 sign. You might have been fined, or you might not have...

If your notification arrives via e-Devlet in a few minutes, you can continue on your way with your nerves through the roof.

Well, does our police force catch those who get behind the wheel drunk, those who weave through traffic, those who show off by blasting music at full volume, or those who use monster exhausts as much as they catch those who fall into radar traps?

Only a few token ones, for the sake of appearances...

Dealing with the drunk and the reckless is harder, of course.

Yet, if they really want to prevent traffic accidents, instead of setting radar traps, they should deal with those who drive so poorly that they endanger traffic, dump trucks speeding in the left lane, rich kids who drink and weave through traffic, and the reckless types who occupy the emergency lane.

Otherwise, we are fed up with empty words like, "Your safety is more important to us than anything else!"