Turkish traffic police unable to fine license plates with non-Latin characters

Duvar English

According to a draft report prepared by the Court of Accounts, the Turkish traffic police are unable to fine cars with license plates including non-Latin characters.

The report said that the Trade Ministry has not been registering these license plates in this system, which is why the traffic police cannot see them in their own database.

It also said that the police information system should be adapted to include the data entry of also non-Latin characters.

A part of the report including the relevant information was shared on social media by main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Deniz Yavuzyılmaz.

“In the inspections conducted throughout the year, it has been seen that traffic administrative fines cannot be issued for vehicle registration plates with those including other than Latin alphabet,” the report read.

“The traffic administration fines are issued through the polnet [police information] system. The polnet system does not make it possible for the issuance of fines for license plates other than Latin alphabet, since there is no matching with the Trade Ministry data.”

The report also said that the system's oversight in this issue “prevents the public sources to increase” and also makes it possible for such vehicle owners to get away with their actions if they require penalization.