A First in Türkiye!

Noting that 98 percent of traffic accidents are caused by human error and 40 percent by work life, experts said that the measures to be taken will have an impact on the prevention of accidents. OHS Expert Özgür Şener, who stated that he continues his studies with the aim of minimizing human-related and work-life sources accidents, said that for the first time in our country, Road Traffic Safety course was given under the roof of a university.

Road traffic safety is given as a "course" at the university

Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Occupational Health and Safety Lecturer Özgür Şener gave information about the Road Traffic Safety course.

Road traffic safety course is taught

The Road Traffic Safety and Occupational Health and Safety Advisor said that the Road Traffic Safety course was given as a course in the third year in the Occupational Health and Safety department. Stating that they talked about road traffic safety practices in our country and in the world under the umbrella of occupational health and safety, Şener indicated the importance of the educations to be given in the prevention of accidents.

5 thousand 362 people lost their lives in traffic accidents in 2021

Stating that 1 million 186 thousand 353 traffic accidents occurred in 2021, 5 thousand 362 people lost their lives and 274 thousand 614 people were injured in the accidents, Şener said, “98 percent of traffic accidents are caused by human errors. The cost of traffic accidents is also very high. Until today, we were proceeding with some data, such as 'The driver made a mistake in traffic accidents', 'The driver used the vehicle incorrectly', 'The driver lost control of the vehicle', 'The driver accelerated'. Yes, there is an error in the system, however, we realized that not all of it belongs to the driver. In a study conducted by the European Union in 2018, it was found that 40 percent of traffic accidents in their own regions, that is, in the European Union countries, are caused by work life. In fact, if we look for our country, we have a chance to prevent a significant rate of 40 percent of these accidents with the work of the occupational health and safety department in order to prevent traffic accidents in our country. That's why this course is so important.".

A first in Türkiye!

Road Traffic Safety and Occupational Health and Safety Advisor stated that Road Traffic Safety course was given for the first time under the roof of a university in Türkiye and said, “Road Traffic Safety course has been offered for the first time in the Occupational Health and Safety department. Üsküdar University played an important role in this regard. We wish our students to be experts in "road traffic safety" and to teach at universities in the future because traffic is an important element of our life. Opening a separate course or a separate department in this area in the future will be effective in preventing traffic accidents.”

Şener said that there are many factors such as the training of drivers, road quality and traffic documents in the prevention of traffic accidents, and that the importance of traffic road safety is understood when it is viewed holistically.

Noting that with the Safe System Approach, it is not possible to get results in the prevention of accidents only with the improvements on the driver's side, Şener stated that there is a need for a Road Traffic Safety Management System that includes the driver, vehicles, improvement of road and traffic conditions, control and inspection systems. Noting that one of the most basic human rights is the right of transportation, Şener said, “This department has an important mission, especially in the prevention of traffic accidents. Here, I hope that our university's leadership will be transferred to other universities in the near future and we will be able to gather Road Traffic Safety under the roof of Occupational Health and Safety studies. That's why it's important because it's a first.".

Driver-related data can be processed

Stating that artificial intelligence-based systems can be evaluated within the scope of Road Traffic Safety, Road Traffic Safety and Occupational Health Safety Consultant Özgür Şener said, “We are now in a position to receive all data from inside and outside the vehicle under the roof of Road Traffic Safety. We will process all data in a professional manner and use this data for improvement. For example, today, there are camera systems inside the vehicles, and these systems learn many data such as whether the driver is wearing a seatbelt, the driver's fatigue, their tendency to talk on a mobile phone, whether the driver is holding the steering wheel with one hand, and can now react instantly.”.

Üsküdar University leads the way again

Üsküdar University Head of the OHS Department Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan also pointed out that they were the first university as Üsküdar University to establish a laboratory in the OHS by establishing Prof. Dr. Hilmi Sabuncu OHS Laboratory and Application Area. Uçan said, “We have opened many courses in our curricula according to the needs of the field that are not available in other universities. They were taught by the instructors who were professionally engaged in this work in the field. As an example, I can list Auto-Cad course, ADR (Transport of Chemicals on International Roads), EPD (Explosion Protection Document), Modeling courses. We saw that our students who took these courses made a positive difference among undergraduate students. This year, we added the Road Traffic Safety course within the scope of Traffic Management Systems to our curriculum as a first in Türkiye. This course will be given by Özgür Şener, one of the few experts on this subject. Students will also have practice in the demonstration field.”.

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)