Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "With anger management training, traffic accidents decrease by more than 50%!"

Üsküdar University organized the "Traffic and Safe Driving Symposium" to raise awareness of traffic safety and driving consciousness. The symposium, attended by expert academics and industry representatives, covered topics such as traffic safety, safe driving techniques, and driver behavior.

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that “Providing training that reduces a person’s risky behaviors and helps them control their emotions in traffic is very important in terms of traffic psychology. With anger management training, traffic accidents decrease by more than 50%.”

Prof. Arif Aktuğ Ertekin stated that “One million people die in traffic accidents worldwide every year. Our country is also affected. The vast majority of these accidents are caused by human error.”

Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan stated that “My recommendation, especially after fatal or serious motorcycle accidents, is that the teams arriving at the scene must take the rider's helmet. Helmets should be inspected for compliance with standards, and if they are found to be inadequate, the manufacturer should be held legally responsible for the fatal accident.”

Road and Traffic Safety Consultant Özgür Şener stated that “Every year, we lose the equivalent of an entire district in traffic accidents.”

 

Üsküdar University organized the "Traffic and Safe Driving Symposium" to highlight the importance of traffic safety and driving awareness. The event was held on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at Çarşı Campus Emirnebi 1 Conference Hall in memory of Ahmet Mete Kocamaz, a Specialist in Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights at the Directorate of R&D and Innovation Policies, who passed away in a traffic accident last November.

The opening speeches were delivered by Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan, Head of the Occupational Health and Safety Department at Üsküdar University's Faculty of Health Sciences and President of MESKA Foundation; Assoc. Prof. Müge Ensari Özay, Faculty Member of the Occupational Health and Safety Department at Üsküdar University; Prof. Arif Aktuğ Ertekin, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Üsküdar University; and Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, President of Üsküdar University.

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "It is very difficult to train a person, but we can lose them in a motorcycle accident"

President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan commemorated Ahmet Mete Kocamaz, who passed away in a motorcycle accident and made the following remarks: “He had made a great start with us, was doing great things, and would have continued to do so... However, fate had other plans. This meeting was organized in his memory, and we must take some lessons from this. It is very difficult to train a person, but we can unexpectedly lose them in a simple motorcycle accident.”

"Motorcycle riders have a risk-taking gene"

Referring to the question "Who rides motorcycles?", Prof. Tarhan explained that “When you look at it, most motorcycle riders have a risk-taking gene. This gene is also found in hyperactive individuals. They love taking risks. They enjoy danger. Of course, measured and calculated risks bring a person closer to their goals and help them progress, but life is not just about what is under one's own control. There are other drivers on the road, road safety conditions, and many other factors involved. That is why, even with a helmet, fatal accidents still occur. In major crashes, helmets often provide no protection at all.”

"Training should be provided to reduce risky behaviors in traffic"

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized the importance of training to reduce risky behaviors and help individuals regulate their emotions in traffi and stated that "Providing training that reduces risky behaviors and helps individuals control their emotions in traffic is crucial in terms of traffic psychology."

He continued his remarks as follows: "If you're curious about what has been done in this area, you can ask ChatGPT. When you ask what is being done regarding traffic, it will immediately mention positive psychology studies. I asked ChatGPT myself, and I was surprised. It explained how positive psychology can contribute to traffic safety and driving. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive emotional state, self-regulation, and anger management. It also highlights the benefits of resilience and patience training. These are already core aspects of positive psychology education. They change an individual's perspective on events. When we examine traffic accidents, all sources indicate that human factors account for approximately 90% of incidents."

"Lack of anger management is the biggest cause of traffic accidents"

Referring to the fights that often break out after traffic accidents, Prof. Tarhan pointed out that most of them are caused by emotional reactions. He stated that "People cannot pause, think, and act rationally in the heat of the moment. This is why training programs should focus on awareness, prevention, and protection. While attention training and psychotechnical assessments are beneficial, the key issue is how to educate people to prevent traffic accidents in the first place. This training should be included in school curricula. Safe driving education should be taught as a course in schools, and anger management skills should be instilled. At the very least, if anger management is ensured, many problems can be prevented. Because the lack of anger control is the biggest cause of traffic accidents. With anger management training, traffic accidents can be reduced by more than 50%."

Prof. Arif Aktuğ Ertekin: "We have developed extremely fast-moving machines and devices"

Prof. Arif Aktuğ Ertekin, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Üsküdar University, highlighted that people are now striving to reach places faster and more efficiently and expressed that "More people are traveling today than ever before. As a result, we have transitioned from slow-moving machines to extremely fast-moving vehicles and devices. A tiny machine now possesses thousands of horsepower... And once someone gets on it, do we call it power intoxication? I don’t know what to call it. But we see that even the calmest individuals can transform into unrecognizable people once they get behind the wheel."

He also emphasized the significance of adolescence in vehicle use and continued his remarks as follows: "Teenagers, in particular, have a fundamental learning system that thrives on taking risks. When discussing traffic, we must not view it merely as moving vehicles. We build roads for these vehicles, destroy nature, lay down asphalt, use chemicals, pollute the air, warm the planet, and change the climate. We have now transitioned from fossil fuels to electricity. These are all important aspects to consider. Every year, one million people worldwide lose their lives in traffic accidents. Our country is also affected by this issue. The vast majority of traffic mistakes are caused by human error."

Dr. Rüştü Uçan: "The total number of fatal accidents in 2023 was 6,548"

Dr. Rüştü Uçan, Head of the Occupational Health and Safety Department at Üsküdar University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and President of the MESKA Foundation, stated that 1,314,136 traffic accidents occurred in 2023. He further reported that the number of fatal and injury-related accidents was 235,071, while property-damage-only accidents totaled 1,079,065, bringing the total number of fatal accidents to 6,548. These figures alone demonstrate the magnitude of the problem we are facing.” Dr. Uçan also added that the total number of deaths from traffic accidents in 2023 increased by 25.2% compared to the previous year.

"We do not use seat belts in the back seat"

Touching on the issue of seat belt usage, Dr. Uçan remarked that "We have somewhat adapted to using seat belts in the front seat, but we still do not use them in the back seat, which is a major shortcoming."

He also pointed out the growing number of motorcycle accidents. According to Dr. Uçan, in 2022, there were 14,269,352 cars and 4,141,914 motorcycles in Türkiye, with the number of motorcycles increasing each year. He stated that 830 car drivers and 696 motorcycle riders lost their lives in accidents in 2022. While the death rate for car drivers was 6 per 100,000, it was 17 per 100,000 for motorcycle riders, meaning motorcycle riders faced a three times higher fatality rate than car drivers.

"The helmet of a motorcyclist involved in an accident must be examined"

Having served as an expert witness for many years, Dr. Uçan made the following recommendations: "My advice is that, particularly after fatal or serious motorcycle accidents, the responding teams should always collect the rider's helmet. If the helmet has failed to provide adequate protection, it should be tested for compliance with safety standards using newly purchased helmets from the manufacturer or importer. If the helmet does not meet the necessary standards, the manufacturer or importing company should be held primarily responsible for the fatal accident. Furthermore, companies producing or importing helmets that fail to provide the required protection should be banned from conducting this business. This would contribute to accident prevention and support the production of genuinely safe helmets."

Assoc. Prof. Müge Ensari Özay: "Building a safety culture is crucial"

Assoc. Prof. Müge Ensari Özay, faculty member in the Occupational Health and Safety Department at Üsküdar University, emphasized the importance of traffic safety and stated that "The most important aspect I want to highlight regarding occupational safety and traffic safety is the creation of a safety culture. Unless we internalize and establish this culture, it will be difficult to prevent accidents. While we try to enforce rules through legal penalties, and although these penalties are necessary, I believe that truly internalizing a safety culture is far more critical. To achieve this, education from an early age, perhaps starting from kindergarten and elementary school, is essential."

"We must establish a safety culture to prevent accidents"

Assoc. Prof. Müge Ensari Özay pointed out that a child growing up with the belief that "whoever is driving the car is always right, and everyone else is wrong" tends to adopt the same behavior in the future. She explained that "When someone gets in the car, even if they are normally a calm person, they may feel a different sense of power and engage in very dangerous behavior, driving recklessly. Therefore, in order to prevent accidents, we absolutely need to establish a safety culture. Of course, training is necessary, and laws, rules, and penalties are important as well. However, all of these can only be effective to a certain extent unless we create a safety culture at the core."

"Every year, we lose a district to traffic accidents…"

In the first session of the event, Özgür Şener, Lecturer in the Department of Occupational Health and Safety at Üsküdar University and Road and Traffic Safety Consultant, stated that he would address the risks in traffic and survival strategies under the title "Surviving in Traffic". He remarked that "Today, surviving in traffic is becoming increasingly difficult; the risk of accidents and injuries is rising. We are implementing a pioneering initiative in Türkiye, offering a Road Traffic Safety course to Occupational Safety undergraduate students, a practice we've been continuing for three years."

Özgür Şener further explained that an average of 3,600 traffic accidents occur daily in Türkiye. He added that "This means that we are constantly facing danger while going about our normal lives. The figure 6,548 representing the number of people who died in traffic accidents in 2023 is equivalent to the population of many districts in Türkiye. In other words, every year, we lose a district to traffic accidents. The figure 350,000, representing the number of people injured, is just as striking. This number is higher than the population of many cities such as Bilecik, Burdur, Kırıkkale, Bartın, Sinop, and Rize. In other words, every year, we injure a population equivalent to the size of an entire province in traffic accidents."

He also stated that 1 in 7 people in Türkiye has lost a relative or been injured in a traffic accident, and the 18 billion Turkish Lira economic loss from traffic accidents is nearly equivalent to the annual budget of one of Türkiye’s ministries.

"Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death among ages 5-29"

Özgür Şener highlighted the World Health Organization's data and stated that "According to the World Health Organization's statistics, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death among individuals aged 5 to 29. This sad reality shows that we are losing our young population to traffic accidents." He further emphasized that"Even though young people have high energy levels and low risk perception, we must not act with the thought of 'nothing will happen to me in traffic.' Remember, traffic is a very dangerous environment, and setting out without taking precautions means putting our lives at risk."

Traffic safety, safe driving techniques, and driver behavior discussed at the symposium

The symposium, which included the participation of expert academics and industry representatives, addressed topics such as traffic safety, safe driving techniques, and driver behaviors. A group photo was also taken during the event.

Additionally, participants had the opportunity to experience the consequences of driving without a seatbelt in the Seatbelt Simulator set up in the university courtyard.

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)