For Americans visiting or living in Turkey, US Department of State has issued some warnings about the terrorist attacks. Americans are told to 'remain in a hightened state of personal security awareness' (*). I find it a little strange that Americans are warned about terrorist attacks but there is no mention of the biggest threat in Turkey. Let me tell you one thing. If you are going to die in my country, it is more likely going to be in a traffic accident than a terrorist attack. The chance of dying in a terrorist attack in Turkey is 1 in 9,270,000. Car accident: 1 in 18,800 (**). (Of course, unless America knows something I don't know!?).
"Icinizdeki trafik canavarini durdurun!" (Stop the traffic monster in you!) This is a sign we had on huge billboards all around Turkey. We probably still have them, since those monsters are genetic. They stay in us forever. But there is a fine line between being a monster and being practical.
Today, I almost drove past a stop sign, while a police car was driving right toward me and I pushed the breaks so hard that it made a very loud squeaking noise... I was able to stop about two feet after the stop sign. I started laughing, as the policeman drove by, staring at me with disbelief. THAT was probably my unstoppable monster.
But, here is something else that happened today. While I was driving on the interstate talking to my friend, I missed my exit. Actually I missed my exit and 6 more exits as well... When I finally noticed that, I wanted to turn back. But the next exit was not until 7 more miles. So instead of going 7 miles... yes, I did something very Turkish. I took the left lane on the interstate, then drove through the grass in the middle and made a U-turn to the other direction. I had seen police cars do that and always wanted to do it. There weren't a lot of cars on the road and I was totally "remaining in a hightened personal security awareness". Now, THAT, I call practicality.
(*) http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1046.html
(**) http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/details/Safety/DangerStats.html
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