The driving culture is very self-centered. The drivers here are only concerned about getting from point A to point B and everyone else should yield to their destination. Again, this is how they have been raised and don't know a different way of thinking. This type of thinking gives them an inability to be patient for traffic delays or jams AND causes them to make what you and I would consider as odd driving decisions.
Traffic Jams
As with most places traffic jams are significant at varying times. Yet, I am astonished at what I see people do in order to get their vehicle ahead of traffic jams. Daily, I deal with vehicles making extra lanes of traffic, yet they will only have to merge later on down the road due to parked vehicles, road construction, traffic lights, etc which causes worse traffic delays. Still, they stack their cars into a nightmarish space of inches between vehicles in order to get ahead a few blocks and not have to wait for that moment. Astonishingly, I have also seen vehicles drive down sidewalks to get around traffic jams. AND at other times, I have watched cars drive in the opposing lane to get around traffic jams, causing the opposing traffic to break -again causing worse delays. All of these behaviors are so counter productive. Their driving actually makes the traffic jams worse and last much longer had they been patient, stuck with the normal traffic lanes, took turns yielding to one another, or stayed in their driving lanes. Even though I am just astonished at what I see everyday, this is normal to them and they don't know any different way of driving.
Minor traffic jam
Look up the hill at the parking that limits the driving space
The silver car is passing us up a hill and we're not even in a traffic jam.
Look at the parking on both sides of the road
They park any way they want... even double parking
Again all the parking problems make driving conditions difficult
Double parked on both sides of the road
If for any reason you need to stop: to drop people off, pick someone up, ask for directions, or look at a map, you simple turn your hazard lights on and stop at your current location. There is no need to pull over to the shoulder, find parking, or get out of the way of on coming traffic. It is understood that when you put your hazard lights on you will need all other drivers to give way to your need and wait for you to take what ever time is necessary to complete your task on the road or highway. Again, I am not saying it is right or wrong, but it is very different and causes traffic jams and delays.
A taxi is dropping off his fair
Traffic is stacked and trying to get around it
Another example of stopping to drop someone off and not pulling to the curb
Note: the taxi because it is common for cars to drive in the middle of lanes
so they can maneuver between lanes to get around traffic
The car in front of me turned on his hazard lights and stopped
The white vehicle on the left side is stopped as well
Then there are vehicles double parked, which does not leave us much room to drive
Traffic Rules
Traffic lights are not to tell the traffic to stop.... OH No! It is just advice and the driver can choose to obey the light or not. I am not kidding. Many times I watch cars drive through the red light causing the green lit traffic to give way or get in an accident. Some drivers barely even give a California stop for the red light, but that is just the way it is here.
Driving the wrong way down the road or in reverse is very common. The culture here is that you just put your hazard lights on and people should give way to you as you drive the wrong way or in reverse. They drive this way, because it allows the driver to get from point A to point B the easiest and quickest way possible. This type of driving applies to highways also. I have been scared a few times coming over a hill or around a corner to see the reverse lights and hazard lights of a vehicle that is driving in reverse on the highway. Evasive maneuvering has come in handy at those times. AND that is just their way of driving and is normal to them.
White vehicle on the right has their hazard lights on and is driving in reverse
NOTE: the direction to where this vehicle is driving, is an entrance ramp to the highway
Traffic lanes don't mean anything in this culture. When you want to turn left or right you just make that turn regardless of the lane you are driving in: left, right or middle. Remember drivers use whatever lane is easiest and fastest for them, which will in their perspective get them the farthest ahead of traffic. There is no forward thinking about having to get in the right hand lane to make the right turn. When it is time to make the lane change or turn, the driver makes that change regardless of the lane they are driving in. This causes other drivers to have to yield to their maneuvering, because most of the time they are turning from the outermost lane, crossing in front of other drivers to get to their destination. I have seen a few accidents due to this form of driving.
Accidents
With such driving norms and behaviors we have seen our share of traffic accidents. BUT even as a police officer working in the City of St. Paul, I have never seen so many one car accidents with several of them being significant rollovers. Note: Almost all intersections have a roundabout system with lights at every section of the roundabout, which is not your normal roundabout system that exists throughout Europe. Also, Ankara is a very hilly city and I am referring to mountainous steep type of hills. The combination of roundabouts with hills, their driving culture and their inability to drive slowly causes their unique and frequent car accidents. Note: I think a few traffic officers would love to come over here to reconstruct and figure out some of these unique one car accidents- Hmm.
Example of a roundabout
Notice the lights at every section
Typical street road and it is steep hill
AND this is not uncommon when driving on side streets
This really is a road ?!?!
If ever involved in a traffic accident you must call the police and you CAN'T move your vehicle. The police MUST see the accident and the crash site in order to decide who is at fault. This rule is a must and applies to all vehicles no matter where the accident occurred and it does not matter if you are blocking all lanes of traffic. The police feel that all other traffic must find an alternative route to their destination, because they need the vehicles positioned in their original collision positions in order to ascertain how the accident occurred. If you move your vehicle you are automatically at fault and get a ticket for both being at fault and for moving your vehicle.
Lessons learned
As I drive around town I drive defensively in a different manner. I try to take into account all the unique driving behaviors. I watch for drivers who have their hazard lights blinking, because they are going to affect my way of driving. When at an intersection, I need to look in all directions for all the different driving practices. Needless to say, I drive defensively in a very different manner. Again, this type of driving is so odd to me, but so normal to their culture.
Construction
Construction is always happening throughout the city. One day you drive down a road and everything looks good and the next day the road is closed. They decide without any announcement that they are going to repave the road or change/rebuild a road. Thus the road is closed with concrete barriers, because any other barricade would only cause drivers to move the barricade sign to allow traffic to continue driving down the road being worked on (which I have seen happen). There are no detour signs showing you an alternate route to get to your destination. You have to drive around and figure out an alternative way on your own. AND no they don't know how long the road construction will be or how long the road will be closed. It is just closed and some day it will reopen. One time, this type of ill informed road construction added 45 minutes to my driving route. I kept running into dead ends or other road closures when trying to get the kids from their school. This type of road construction sure can make life interesting.
Sometimes during construction they don't shut the road completely down. I am amazed how close vehicles are able to drive near the construction site, equipment, and the construction zone area in general. But because there literally is no other road available for the drivers to get to their destination they allow a partial road opening for people to drive on. I have watched people drive close to gaping holes in the ground and large construction equipment and thought to myself - Oh my gosh this is scary. One wrong move and the city would be sued for the injuries sustained. Because when I say close, I mean vehicles and people can get really close to the construction site. For example; I had to drive right next to a construction zone where large equipment had dug into the ground about 10 feet. Only part of the road was left, but the road was open and they allowed drivers to drive down the partial road. So I continued to follow traffic and noticed that there was only about a foot for driver error driving down that road. One wrong move and any vehicle could just drop right down into the large hole that they had dug and were still working on. I am not exaggerating about this scenario. I drove very slowly and could not believe how close we drove next to an anchored crane, dump trucks that were actively gathering dirt, the general construction equipment and this large gaping hole. It was just odd and scary at the same time. YET this is very common and normal.
A very large crane anchored in the middle of the road
There are no cones, no warnings, no person directing traffic
And traffic can drive around it
As you can see everyday driving, road construction, and building construction in general is very different here. Their cultural differences dictate their behavior and the choices that they make in all those situations. Again, I am not saying it is right or wrong but different and makes our life interesting while living abroad.
