The number of privileged individuals in traffic exceeds 30 thousand
Traffic rules in Turkey do not apply to everyone; some public officials are effectively exempt from penalties. Members of Parliament and former MPs are exempt through legal regulations, while judges, prosecutors, and police chiefs face impunity in practice.
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While traffic fines increased with the new year are on the public agenda, examples of impunity applied to certain groups are drawing attention. In Turkey, a segment of approximately 30 thousand people is effectively or legally exempt from traffic fine obligations.
According to current legislation, the only professional group that has the right of way in traffic and cannot be issued a ticket is defined as Members of Parliament. When the 600 MPs register their rights by submitting a petition, they can maintain this privilege as former MPs as well. Recently, allegations have surfaced that former MPs are also submitting petitions to be exempted from fines.
According to a report by Sözcü, judges and prosecutors are not legally exempt. However, in practice, traffic violations detected by the police are referred directly to the judiciary. In this case, the body evaluating the penalty is the judiciary itself. Judges and prosecutors defend this situation on the grounds of "judicial independence and immunity," and in practice, they are not issued traffic tickets.
There are 25 thousand 449 judges and prosecutors serving across Turkey. Following them, approximately 3 thousand 499 police chiefs are also unaffected by traffic fines in practice. Yet, the law does not grant such a privilege to police chiefs. The reason for not issuing fines in practice is cited as traditions within the police force.
A former MP stated, "Some former MPs can resort to the judiciary by using internal regulations to cancel traffic fines. Now, approximately 600 former MPs are preparing a new petition."
On the other hand, a sample petition submitted to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), requesting that the vehicles of former MPs also be registered as "MP vehicles," has been reflected in the public eye. The petitions in question include the following statement: "I kindly request that the necessary actions be taken to register my vehicle with license plate ....., which is registered in my name, as an 'MP Vehicle' in the records of the General Directorate of Security, Traffic Department, Registration and License Plate Affairs Branch Directorate." These petitions are being compiled by the Association of Parliamentarians.