Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Amaçları
Yayınlar
- MakaleAçık Erişim2026Drivers’ Perceptions of Vertical Traffic Signs and Their Implications for Road Safety: Evidence from a Field Survey
Durmus, Tahsin; Coruh, Emine
Accurate perception and interpretation of the road environment are essential for safe driving. Vertical traffic signs play a key role in communicating warnings, regulations, and guidance to road users, thereby supporting safe and efficient traffic flow. However, their effectiveness depends not only on proper design and placement but also on how accurately and promptly they are perceived by drivers, which may be influenced by factors such as attention, cognitive workload, physical and mental condition, and fatigue. This study evaluates the contribution of selected vertical traffic signs to driving safety along a designated roadway section in Şanlıurfa, Türkiye. Face-to-face surveys were conducted with 480 active road users. Drivers’ knowledge, compliance behavior, safe route preferences, perceived visibility, and the effects of missing or inadequate signage were analyzed. The results indicate that driving exposure, education level, and experience significantly influence knowledge and perception of traffic signs, while compliance shows limited variation. These findings suggest that knowledge alone does not necessarily translate into behavioral compliance and underscore the importance of considering both driver-related factors and infrastructure characteristics in traffic safety strategies. The study provides practical insights for improving the visibility, placement, and overall effectiveness of vertical traffic signs in rapidly developing urban environments.
- MakaleAçık Erişim2025Motivating Green Transition: Analyzing Fuel Demands in Turkiye Amidst the Climate Crisis and Economic Impact
Coruh, Emine; Yıldız, Mehmet Selim; Urak, Faruk; Bilgic, Abdulbaki; Cengiz, Vedat
Decarbonizing the transportation sector is critical for sustainable development, particularly in rapidly urbanizing countries like Turkiye. This study analyzes fuel demand elasticities for diesel, gasoline, and LPG across 12 NUTS-1 regions of Turkiye in 2022, using a panel random effects SUR approach. The model accounts for regional variation and fuel interactions, producing robust estimates that uncover significant spatial and temporal differences in consumption patterns. Uniquely, diesel demand displays a significantly positive price elasticity, challenging the conventional assumption of inelasticity. Gasoline demand is moderately price-sensitive, while LPG appears relatively unresponsive. Strong cross-price elasticities—especially between diesel and gasoline—point to substitution effects that can inform more adaptive policy frameworks. Seasonal fluctuations and Istanbul’s outsized impact also shape national trends. These findings underscore the need for differentiated region- and fuel-specific strategies. While higher gasoline taxes may effectively reduce demand, lowering diesel and LPG use will require complementary measures such as infrastructure upgrades, behavioral incentives, and accelerated adoption of alternative fuels. The study advocates for regionally adjusted carbon pricing, removal of implicit subsidies, and targeted support for electric and hybrid vehicles. Aligning fiscal tools with actual demand behavior can enhance both the efficiency and equity of the transition to a low-carbon transportation system.
- MakaleAçık Erişim2025External Costs of Road Traffic Accidents in Türkiye: The Willingness-to-Pay Method
Topcu, Rahmi; Coruh, Emine
Traffic accidents remain a major global burden, causing mortality, disability, and socio-economic losses that hinder sustainable development. Beyond human suffering, crashes place long-term pressures on health systems, labor markets, and national economies, disproportionately impacting low- and middle-income countries. Estimating the true societal costs of accidents is therefore essential for designing effective, equitable, and sustainable road safety policies. This study applies the Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) method to evaluate the external costs of traffic-related deaths and injuries in Türkiye between 2008 and 2018. By incorporating material and immaterial losses, the WTP framework captures a broader spectrum of impacts than traditional approaches, offering valuable insights into the scale of welfare losses and the value of risk reduction. The findings reveal that external costs rose substantially over the decade, from 1.63% to 2.72% of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), underscoring that economic losses from road crashes are growing faster than the economy. These results highlight the need for systematic interventions that integrate road safety into national sustainability agendas, including safer infrastructure, behavioral programs, advanced vehicle technologies, and efficient emergency response systems. The evidence presented strengthens the case for prioritizing traffic safety as a fundamental component of sustainable transport and public health strategies.
- MakaleAçık Erişim2024Performance Comparison of Various Tunnel Lighting Scenarios on Driver Lane-Changing Behaviours in a Driving Simulator
Ozturk, Omer Faruk; Mazlum, Yusuf; Aydin, Metin Mutlu; Coruh, Emine; Bayata, Halim Ferit
Recent advances in tunnel infrastructure have emphasized safety, operational efficiency and low operating costs. Modern tunnels are equipped with systems to improve both safety and operational performance. This study investigates the effect of tunnel lighting and vehicle breakdown scenarios on driver lane changing behaviour (LCB) using a driving simulator modelled on the third longest twin-tube tunnel. Data were collected from 125 drivers considering various driver characteristics with different lighting conditions and the presence of a stopped vehicle in a lane. The results show that drivers tend to slow down and change lanes more safely in response to red and flashing lights. In contrast, blue sky lights, which are designed to reduce stress and compare with other dangerous scenarios, had no significant effect on LCB. In addition, demographic factors such as gender and previous simulator experience played a role in influencing LCB tendencies. Female drivers and those familiar with simulators showed more cautious behaviour. The findings showed valuable insights into how tunnel lighting systems can improve safety. Results highlighted the potential for dynamic lighting and targeted driver training programs to improve tunnel safety. All these findings may contribute to ongoing efforts to improve traffic management and reduce accidents in tunnel environments.
- MakaleAçık Erişim2024Uncovering the determinants of bottom-up CO2 emissions among households in Türkiye: Analysis and policy recommendations
Coruh, Emine; Bilgic, Abdulbaki; Cengiz, Vedat; Urak, Faruk
Amid escalating global concerns surrounding climate change, the transportation sector has garnered the attention of stakeholders. Double-hurdle censored models were employed in this study to elucidate the relationship between the probability of private fuel expenditure and expenditure levels and household characteristics to determine the factors contributing to household-based CO2 emissions. Remarkably, nearly two-thirds of the 38 factors examined contributed to the emitters, and almost all emitters were identified as statistically significant. This alarming situation underscores the importance of formulating family based green transformation policies. If successful, these policies can ignite transformative momentum. Consequently, understanding household transportation expenditure from a bottom-up perspective can provide invaluable insights into crafting a comprehensive set of top-line policy recommendations for innovation and marketing strategies in the transport and energy sectors. Measures such as incentivizing the adoption of electric vehicles through economic incentives, expanding public transportation networks, and implementing sustainable housing policies have immense potential to effectively reduce private fuel expenditure. When implemented holistically, these strategies can pave the way for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future.
- MakaleYalnız künye2022The role of household demographic factors in shaping transportation spending in Turkey
Coruh, Emine; Urak, Faruk; Bilgic, Abdulbaki; Yen, Steven T.
Factors at the family scale, for which dynamic decisions and proper investments need to be made at the national level in curbing greenhouse gas emissions, are extremely important for policymakers and investors. We provide information on the roles of how household demographic factors shape transportation patterns and spending in Turkey using the latest survey data collected by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TSI). Alternative sample selection models are estimated to accommodate censoring in expenditure, and the dependent single-hurdle model is found to be the preferred model as a result of model specification tests. Also, different specification tests conducted, including the error-independence test, resulted in rejection of the null hypothesis. Results suggest that the majority of the household economic and sociodemographic characteristics are important determinants of both the probability and level of transportation expenditure. Policy recommendations to curb carbon emissions and integrate environmentally friendly transport systems throughout the country are presented.
- MakaleYalnız künye2015Accident analysis with the random parameters negative binomial panel count data model
Coruh, Emine; Bilgic, Abdulbaki; Tortum, Ahmet
We analyzed factors affecting the frequency of accident counts in 81 cities over a three-year period (2008-2010) with monthly data using random-parameters negative binomial panel count data models. Among models considered, the random parameters model with the correlated coefficients outperformed the other models and was found to fit the data best with almost a perfect prediction of the conditional mean level. Most of variables used to control for the variation in the frequency of accident counts play crucial role with higher significance levels. Also, marginal effects and elasticity estimates were derived to get more insight into the effects of percent and unit changes in the dependent variable in response to changes in the exogenous variables.