Winter tire requirement begins November 15: Circular from the Interior Ministry

The "Winter Season Traffic Measures" circular was published with the signature of Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi; the circular also covers the inspection of the winter tire requirement on intercity highways from November 15 to April 15 of the following year. According to what Anadolu Agency reported, the circular was prepared in order to reduce the effects of adverse weather and road conditions such as snowfall, icing, fog and blizzards on traffic safety, to prevent accidents and to ensure that transportation is maintained safely.

Within the scope of the circular, information sharing and cooperation will be ensured between law enforcement units and relevant institutions and organizations under the coordination of the governorates. Winter season traffic coordination meetings will be held under the chairmanship of governors and district governors, with the participation of the police, gendarmerie, provincial disaster and emergency directorates, highways regional and branch units, municipalities, meteorology, health, the 112 Emergency Call Center and relevant road operators.

In the event that roads are closed to traffic due to heavy snowfall, icing, avalanches and landslides, coordination between provinces will be provided through the governorates. Vehicles located in provincial and district centers or at rest facilities will not be allowed onto the highway, and vehicles that will use the route will be held at suitable locations until the roads become passable. Tow trucks and vehicles with semi-trailers attached will not be allowed to travel on affected routes on days of heavy snowfall and blizzards. Taking into account that traffic flow to winter tourism regions from other provinces will intensify, additional measures will be taken on these routes.

Inspections will be carried out to ensure compliance with the winter tire requirement for vehicles used in passenger and freight transport on intercity highways; intercity passenger buses in particular will be checked at terminal exits. Administrative fines will be imposed on vehicles found not to comply with the rule, and a Winter Tire Requirement Certificate will be issued so that they are allowed to travel to the nearest settlement where they can make their tires suitable. Decisions taken by the governorates on whether the winter tire practice will be applied at provincial borders and whether the implementation period will be extended by one month before or after the specified date range will be announced to the public.

In order to prevent excessive pricing practices, tow truck and recovery fee tariffs will be determined and updated by authorized institutions and chambers and announced; complaints regarding demands for fees that exceed the tariff or that are not disclosed will be examined by authorized inspection units. In the event that highways are closed to traffic or disruptions in transportation are experienced, the situation will be reported to the telephone numbers "0312 462 22 21" and "0505 318 00 88" of the General Directorate of Security Traffic Management Center, and to the telephone numbers "0538 860 85 04" and "0312 456 24 22" of the Gendarmerie General Command Traffic Monitoring and Management Center.