Turkey's interior minister says no trap radar in Kurban Bayramı traffic safety plan

Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi announced that for the upcoming Kurban Bayramı holiday, Turkey will deploy 334,017 law‑enforcement personnel, of which 66,481 are tasked with traffic duties. The plan includes 1,238 officers acting as hidden passengers on intercity buses, and a total of 1,581 mobile radars (619 from police, 962 from gendarmerie) to monitor speed and violations.

Speed enforcement will be carried out via 520 Electronic Detection Systems covering 21,682 kilometres across 61 provinces. Çiftçi emphasized that a so‑called “trap radar” system will not be used; the goal is to reduce rule violations and accidents, not to issue fines. Traffic safety measures also restrict trucks, trailers and tankers from certain highways between 13:00 on 30 May and 01:00 on 1 June.

The minister cited past holiday statistics, noting between 2021‑2024 there were over 6,000 road deaths each year during the festival period, with hundreds of fatalities and thousands of injuries. The comprehensive deployment aims to lower those numbers during the 11‑day window from 22 May to 1 June 2026.