Citizens warned of crashes as millions to flock to roads for 'bayram'

An estimated 7 million travelers will take to the roads and skies during the traditional 'bayram' holiday, but authorities have warned drivers to drive safely given the annual carnage on the roads Turkey will see staggering numbers of people traveling during this year's traditional "bayram" holiday, as an estimated 7 million travelers – equal to the population of Switzerland – are set to take to the roads and skies to visit their families.

However, as the feast to mark the end of Ramadan gets closer, both the government and experts have issued warnings on travel safety for drivers and passengers.

Departures to prepare for the feast have already begun, with many additional flights and bus services scheduled for the holiday, which will start July 28 and end July 30, due to excess demand. Turkey’s Bus Drivers’ Federation has said it expects nearly 7 million people to travel to their hometowns to celebrate the holiday.

Both Ramadan and the Feast of the Sacrifice are the peak seasons for accidents to occur. Last year, road accidents during the Feast of the Sacrifice left more than 110 dead and injured over 620 people.

Mehmet Timur is a 41-year-old victim of a crash in Istanbul in 2008. “I did not only lose my leg; I lost my wife, my family and my job” Timur said, adding that he lost his wife at the scene and went into a coma for 11 days after the accident.

“It was a nine-day holiday and, taking advantage of the opportunity, we planned to visit our families in [the Black Sea province of] Ordu. We preferred to travel with our own car and I was going to drive throughout the journey as we had planned,” he said.

“However, I felt sleepy. I knew I...