Emergency Procedures and 112 Contact: Turkish Road Law Guide for Category AM Riders

Experiencing a traffic accident or a sudden mechanical breakdown can be a highly stressful event, especially when riding a vulnerable vehicle like a moped or light motorized bicycle (Category AM). Under Turkish road law (Karayolları Trafik Kanunu), knowing exactly how to react immediately following an incident is not just a matter of safety—it is a strict legal obligation.

This lesson covers the essential, life-saving steps required to secure an accident or breakdown scene, assess casualties, summon emergency medical and law enforcement personnel via the unified 112 Emergency Call Centre (112 Acil Çağrı Merkezi), and administer basic first aid within your legal and physical capacity.

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The Critical First Seconds: Immediate Response and Scene Safety

The moments immediately following a collision or mechanical failure are the most dangerous. On busy Turkish roads, a stopped vehicle—particularly a small moped—presents a major hazard to oncoming traffic. Your primary objective must always be to prevent a secondary collision (a subsequent accident caused by the initial incident).

Step-by-Step Scene Management

If you are involved in or arrive at an accident scene, follow this strict sequence of actions to control the environment:

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Deploying Warning Devices: Turkish Legal Distances

Under the Turkish Highway Traffic Regulation (Karayolları Trafik Yönetmeliği), drivers must place warning triangles behind a disabled or crashed vehicle to ensure other drivers have sufficient time to react and slow down. Because mopeds are small and easily obscured by larger vehicles, proper triangle placement is critical.

Standard Distance Requirements

The legal requirements for placing warning devices vary based on the type of road and the visibility conditions:

• Urban Roads (Şehir İçi Yollar): Place the warning triangle at least 20 metres (and ideally up to 30 metres) behind the vehicle.
• Intercity Highways (Şehirlerarası Yollar) and Expressways: Place the warning triangle at least 30 metres behind the vehicle.
• Visibility Range: The warning triangle must be positioned such that oncoming drivers can see it clearly from a distance of at least 150 metres. This allows high-speed traffic sufficient time to brake or change lanes.

Environmental and Weather Modifications

Static legal distances are minimum standards. You must dynamically adjust your behavior based on environmental risks:

• Crests and Curves: If the breakdown or accident occurs just after a sharp curve or the crest of a hill, a triangle placed exactly 30 meters away may still be hidden from oncoming traffic. In these scenarios, place the warning device before the curve or crest, ensuring approaching drivers are warned before they enter the blind zone.
• Adverse Weather: In heavy fog, torrential rain, or snow, visibility drops drastically. Increase the placement distance of your warning triangle and, if available, use active flashing safety lamps or torches to pierce through the precipitation.
• Night Driving: At night, ensure all remaining operational lights on your moped are kept on. Use a flashlight or your phone's light to make yourself visible while walking to set up the triangle.

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Contacting the 112 Emergency Call Centre

In Turkey, all emergency services have been consolidated into a single, unified telephone number: 112. Dialing 112 connects you to the Acil Çağrı Merkezi, which dispatches the appropriate response units, including:

• Ambulance / Medical Teams (Cankurtaran / Sağlık Ekipleri)
• Traffic Police (Trafik Polisi) or Gendarmerie (Jandarma)
• Fire Brigade (İtfaiye) if there is a fire hazard or trapped victim

What to Report: Delivering Precise Information

When you call 112, you must remain calm and deliver clear, structured information. The dispatcher will use your description to prioritize resources. Prepare to provide the following details:

1. Exact Location: State the road name, highway kilometer marker, direction of travel (e.g., "On the D-100 highway heading towards Istanbul, 2 kilometers past the Gebze exit"), and any nearby landmarks (bridges, petrol stations, or major intersections).
2. Nature of the Accident: Briefly explain what happened (e.g., "A moped was hit by a passenger car at an intersection").
3. Number and Status of Casualties: State how many people are injured and describe their obvious conditions (e.g., "Two people injured. One is conscious but bleeding from the arm; the other is unconscious but breathing").
4. Hazards at the Scene: Inform the operator of any secondary dangers, such as spilled fuel, active fire, downed power lines, or blocked traffic lanes.
5. Your Contact Info: Give your name and stay on the line until the operator tells you it is safe to hang up.

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Assessing Injuries and Providing Basic First Aid

As a Category AM license holder, you are required to understand the basics of first aid (ilk yardım). While you are not expected to perform advanced medical procedures, you have a legal and moral duty to preserve life and prevent a victim's condition from worsening before professional paramedics arrive.

The Priority of Assessment: The ABCs of First Aid

Before touching a victim, perform a rapid assessment of their life-support indicators. This is often referred to as checking the ABCs:

• A - Airway (Hava Yolu): Is the victim's airway open and clear? If they are speaking or crying, their airway is clear.
• B - Breathing (Solunum): Look, listen, and feel for breathing for up to 10 seconds. Look for chest rise, listen for breath sounds, and feel for air on your cheek.
• C - Circulation (Dolaşım): Check for signs of life and look for life-threatening external bleeding.

Essential First Aid Actions Within Your Competence

• Do Not Move Seriously Injured Persons: The golden rule of accident first aid is to never move a victim unless there is an immediate, catastrophic threat to their life (such as the vehicle catching fire or being positioned in an active, un-secureable lane of high-speed traffic). Unnecessary movement can cause permanent paralysis in victims with undetected spinal or neck fractures.
• Control Severe Bleeding: If a victim is bleeding heavily, apply direct pressure to the wound using a clean cloth, sterile bandage from your first aid kit, or your gloved hands. Maintain continuous pressure until medical assistance arrives.
• Maintain Body Temperature: Shock is a common, life-threatening reaction to trauma. Keep the victim warm and dry by covering them with a blanket, coat, or emergency foil space blanket.
• The Recovery Position (Koma Pozisyonu): If a victim is unconscious but breathing normally, and you do not suspect a spinal injury, carefully turn them onto their side into the recovery position. This keeps their airway clear and prevents them from choking on vomit or their tongue.

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Legal Obligations and Consequences under Turkish Law

The Turkish Highway Traffic Law (Karayolları Trafik Kanunu) treats involvement in a traffic accident with strict gravity. Failing to adhere to post-accident protocols carries heavy legal consequences, ranging from administrative fines to criminal prosecution.

Legal Obligations of Drivers Involved in an Accident

According to Article 81 of the Turkish Highway Traffic Law, all drivers involved in a traffic accident must:

1. Stop immediately: Running away or failing to stop is a direct violation of the law.
2. Ensure road safety: Take the necessary safety measures (hazard lights, triangles) described above.
3. Report the accident: Notify the police or gendarmerie via 112 if there are injuries or deaths, or if public property is damaged.
4. Assist the injured: Provide basic first aid and assist emergency services in transporting or caring for the victims.
5. Provide Identification: Share driver's license, vehicle registration, and compulsory traffic insurance (Zorunlu Mali Sorumluluk Sigortası) information with other parties involved.

Common Violations and Legal Penalties

Failure to comply with these rules results in severe legal liabilities:

• Leaving the Scene of an Accident (Kazayı Yerinde Bırakıp Kaçmak): Leaving an accident scene, especially one involving injuries or fatalities, is classified as a criminal offense. It can lead to the suspension of your driving license, heavy administrative fines, and prison sentences under the Turkish Penal Code (Türk Ceza Kanunu) for negligent injury or manslaughter.
• Failure to Provide First Aid / Assistance: If you pass by an accident scene in which you were involved, or if you fail to assist injured persons within your capability, you can be prosecuted for failing to fulfill your duty to assist.
• Neglecting to Secure the Scene: Failing to place warning triangles or activate hazard lights, resulting in a secondary collision, makes you legally liable (both civilly and criminally) for the damages and injuries caused by that second crash.

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Conditional Scenarios: Managing Diverse Road Environments

An emergency situation looks very different depending on when, where, and in what weather it occurs. Use the following guidelines to adapt your response:

1. Urban Intersections vs. High-Speed Highways

Factor	Urban Streets / Intersections	Highways and Expressways (Otoban)
Speed of Oncoming Traffic	Moderate (typically 30–50 km/h)	High (up to 120 km/h or more)
Triangle Distance	Minimum 20 metres	Minimum 30 metres (visible from 150m)
Primary Danger	Pedestrians, crossing vehicles, lateral collisions	Rear-end pileups, high-velocity impacts
Action Priority	Move vehicle to the curb; clear the intersection path if safe.	Move immediately to the hard shoulder. Do not stand on the asphalt. Move behind the crash barrier (bariyer) after securing the scene.

2. Low Visibility: Night, Rain, and Fog

Under compromised visibility conditions, a moped's small profile is almost invisible to oncoming drivers.

• Increase Safety Margins: Double the distance at which you place your warning triangle.
• Maximize Illumination: Keep your moped's headlights on if the battery is functional. Use your mobile phone's flashlight function to warn oncoming drivers as you walk along the edge of the road.
• Wear Reflective Gear: Never attempt to secure a scene at night or in fog without wearing a reflective vest.

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Moped-Specific Breakdown Protocols (Category AM)

Riding a Category AM moped introduces specific vulnerabilities during a breakdown or minor mechanical failure. Mopeds do not have protective cabins, and their small tires and lightweight frames make them unstable when parked on unpaved shoulders.

Safe Positioning of a Disabled Moped

If your moped experiences a mechanical failure (such as a flat tire, broken drive belt, or engine seizure):

1. Steer to Safety: Immediately signal and steer the moped to the far-right edge of the road, preferably onto the hard shoulder or a designated parking bay.
2. Park on Stable Ground: Mopeds can easily tip over. Ensure the side stand or center stand is placed on firm, flat ground. If the shoulder is soft dirt, look for a flat stone or solid surface to place under the stand.
3. Turn Off the Fuel Tap (If Equipped): Many older or small-displacement mopeds have manual fuel petcocks. Turn this to the "OFF" position to prevent fuel leaks, which present a high fire risk in the event of a fall.
4. Stand Clear of the Roadway: Once the moped is safely parked and the warning triangle is set up, do not stand next to your vehicle on the roadside. Step over the guardrail or stand well back on the pavement/shoulder while waiting for a recovery vehicle or assistance.

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Applied Scenarios: Putting Knowledge into Practice

Scenario A: Urban Roundabout Collision

• Situation: You are riding your Category AM moped through an urban roundabout in Izmir during daytime. A passenger car fails to yield and clips your rear wheel. You are knocked over, receiving minor scrapes, but the driver of the car has panicked and hit a light pole; they are dazed inside their vehicle.
• Correct Action Sequence:
  1. Drag your damaged moped out of the active roundabout lanes to the sidewalk to clear traffic.
  2. Turn off your moped's ignition.
  3. Put on your reflective vest from under your seat.
  4. Place your warning triangle 20 meters back from the entrance of the roundabout where vehicles are approaching.
  5. Check on the car driver—they are conscious but confused.
  6. Dial 112 and provide the exact intersection location, reporting a two-vehicle collision with minor injuries. Wait for the police and medical teams.

Scenario B: Nighttime Highway Engine Failure

• Situation: At 21:00, while riding along a rural highway, your moped's engine suddenly loses power and dies. The road is unlit and has a narrow shoulder.
• Correct Action Sequence:
  1. Coast the moped onto the narrow shoulder as far right as possible.
  2. Switch on your hazard lights (or parking lights).
  3. Carefully dismount on the right side (away from traffic).
  4. Put on your reflective vest.
  5. Take your warning triangle and walk back 30 meters along the shoulder, facing oncoming traffic while holding a light, and set up the triangle.
  6. Retreat behind the highway guardrail or onto the safe embankment.
  7. Dial 112 to report a disabled vehicle posing a hazard on a dark highway, then contact a towing service.

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Glossary of Essential Terms