Driving in Turkey
Discussion
Turkey:
When you join a main road you just pull out keeping way over until you can slot into an available gap in the traffic.
If you want to go faster than the car in front, you sit as close to their back bumper as possible. Then when they can, they move. Flashing ones headlights raises the urgency from level 1, to level 2.
If there is an accident, everyone gets out and pushes the obstruction out of the way.
Speed limits seems to depend on how fast an owners old Renault or Fiat can actually physically go flat out.
Basically, in the UK it would be a proper road rage fest...but in Turkey I never felt the need to email anyone, throw any cans of energy drink, become a company director, prove how powerfully built I am or write a thread to PH (until now).
When you join a main road you just pull out keeping way over until you can slot into an available gap in the traffic.
If you want to go faster than the car in front, you sit as close to their back bumper as possible. Then when they can, they move. Flashing ones headlights raises the urgency from level 1, to level 2.
If there is an accident, everyone gets out and pushes the obstruction out of the way.
Speed limits seems to depend on how fast an owners old Renault or Fiat can actually physically go flat out.
Basically, in the UK it would be a proper road rage fest...but in Turkey I never felt the need to email anyone, throw any cans of energy drink, become a company director, prove how powerfully built I am or write a thread to PH (until now).
Also:
The number of lanes in the carriageway is not defined by the lines but by the number of vehicles that can fit side by side.
The hard shoulder is a spare lane to use
Texting and mobile phone use whilst driving is compulsory
If your side of the road is busy feel free to use the other carriageway instead, traffic coming towards you knows to avoid you
plus, when they finish building the place it will look great.
The number of lanes in the carriageway is not defined by the lines but by the number of vehicles that can fit side by side.
The hard shoulder is a spare lane to use
Texting and mobile phone use whilst driving is compulsory
If your side of the road is busy feel free to use the other carriageway instead, traffic coming towards you knows to avoid you
plus, when they finish building the place it will look great.
It's odd, the general lack of signalling / pulling out / stopping randomly behaviour would cause mucho rage here, but over there you just expect it so it doesn't seem to matter. Italy is much the same.
Overall I thouroughly enjoyed driving in Turkey, despite all the advice being "don't". Quiet roads, (some of which are fantastic) and a general lack of stress. Navigation is a bit of an issue though!
I did a write-up of my trip last year: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=3...
Overall I thouroughly enjoyed driving in Turkey, despite all the advice being "don't". Quiet roads, (some of which are fantastic) and a general lack of stress. Navigation is a bit of an issue though!
I did a write-up of my trip last year: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=3...
The Black Flash said:
I did a write-up of my trip last year: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=3...
Really enjoyable read 
Try driving in Sri Lanka. At one stage our taxi was overtaking another car that was overtaking a tuk tuk that was overtaking a bike that was over taking a cow, we were being overtaken by a bus and we had almost the identical thing coming towards us on the opposite carriageway. And this was a single carriageway mountain road. Lots of hooting, no road rage and everything sorted out ok.
Nearly a decade of holidaying in Turkey and I don't recall seeing one accident or incident of road rage, despite some city centres being an utterly chaotic free-for-all and indicator stalks seemingly a place to merely hang your air fresheners. It just works and no-one gets hot under the collar about it.
I was over in Turkey last month and a dolmus driver (public transport bus) I was sat up front next to spent most of the journey with his mobile phone in one hand, split between constant texting and calls every 5 minutes, and a smoke in the other, while navigating down the side of a steep valley with no barriers to seperate us from death. Did I feel worried at any point? No.
I was over in Turkey last month and a dolmus driver (public transport bus) I was sat up front next to spent most of the journey with his mobile phone in one hand, split between constant texting and calls every 5 minutes, and a smoke in the other, while navigating down the side of a steep valley with no barriers to seperate us from death. Did I feel worried at any point? No.
Don't forget that agricultural vehicles are allowed to travel the wrong way up the motorways and that if you put your hazards on you are exempt from all road laws.
Also, if you think Turkey is bad, try Iran. It's quite similar to Turkey just slightly more manic and with far more crashes.
Also, if you think Turkey is bad, try Iran. It's quite similar to Turkey just slightly more manic and with far more crashes.
Incidentally, I don't think Turkey is as bad as all the guides make out. I'd be inclined to keep away from driving in city centres but otherwise the roads are usually quite quiet. And the drives/views are often spectacular.
However Turkey has such a good (and cheap) public transport infrastructure that I've never felt the need to hire a car over there.
However Turkey has such a good (and cheap) public transport infrastructure that I've never felt the need to hire a car over there.
al1991 said:
The Black Flash said:
I did a write-up of my trip last year: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=3...
Really enjoyable read 
I like getting into those scrapes where you are driving along a road, its getting narrower and narrower and steeper and steeper and you start wondering whether to turn back or not Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff