Penalty for Drunk Driving in Turkey in 2025

Traffic safety is one of the most critical legal and social issues for a society. One of the most serious threats to this safety is driving under the influence of alcohol. The fact that alcohol directly impairs a driver’s judgment, reflexes, and coordination poses a vital risk to both the driver and other innocent people in traffic.

For this reason, the legislator has stipulated very severe sanctions, both administrative (fines, license suspension) and judicial (imprisonment), against drunk driving. In this article, we will examine in detail the legal basis, blood alcohol (promil) limits, current penalties as of 2025, and the legal consequences of this act.

Legal Basis: Highways Traffic Law (KTK) Article 48

The basic framework for the prohibition of drunk driving is drawn in Article 48 of the Highways Traffic Law No. 2918.

Highways Traffic Law Article 48:

It is prohibited for drivers who have taken narcotic or psychotropic substances, and for drivers who are under the influence of alcohol, to drive on the highway.

Technical devices are used by law enforcement to determine whether narcotic or psychotropic substances have been used or to determine the amount of alcohol in the blood.

In the event that a person is involved in a traffic accident resulting in injury or death, or in a material damage accident to which law enforcement has intervened, it is mandatory to subject them to the examination specified in the second paragraph.

These drivers who object to the measurement made by a technical device or who do not allow measurement with this device are taken to the nearest forensic medicine institution, forensic physician, or healthcare institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Health, and samples such as blood, saliva, or urine are taken from their bodies to be used for the detection of narcotic or psychotropic substances or alcohol. For this procedure, the provisions of Article 75 of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 5271 dated 4/12/2004 are applied, with the exception of its fifth paragraph.

In the event of the person’s death as a result of a traffic accident or being injured to the extent that they cannot blow into a technical device, samples such as blood, saliva, or urine are taken from these individuals according to the provisions of the third paragraph.

As a result of the determination, drivers found to be driving with an alcohol level over 0.50 promil will be fined [administrative fine for the respective year] and their driver’s license will be suspended for six months, even if the act constitutes a crime. For drivers using vehicles other than private cars while under the influence of alcohol, the lower promil limit is applied as 0.21. For a person whose driver’s license is suspended due to drunk driving, within five years counting back from the date of the last violation; for the second time, an administrative fine of [administrative fine for the respective year] is imposed and their driver’s licenses are suspended for two years, and for three or more times, an administrative fine of [administrative fine for the respective year] is imposed and their driver’s licenses are suspended for five years each time…

As a result of the determination, drivers found to have an alcohol level over 1.00 promil are also subject to the provisions of the third paragraph of Article 179 of the Turkish Penal Code.

In the event that drivers of private cars with an alcohol level over 0.50 promil, and drivers of other vehicles with an alcohol level over 0.20 promil, cause a traffic accident, the relevant provisions of the Turkish Penal Code are also applied…

Interpretation of the Law: Legal Promil Limits

The law sets two basic promil limits for drivers:

1. Private Car Drivers: The legal limit is 0.50 promil. Driving above this level is prohibited.

2. Commercial Vehicle and Other Drivers: For drivers of vehicles other than private cars (taxis, trucks, buses, minibuses, etc.), the legal limit is 0.20 promil (penalties apply from 0.21 promil). The tolerance for these drivers is much lower.

2025 Drunk Driving Penalties (Graduated System)

The law adopts a graduated penalty system that increases based on the repetition of the offense of drunk driving within the last 5 years. The current administrative sanctions for 2025 are summarized in the table below.

License Suspension and Reinstatement Process

When the license suspension period expires, the driver’s license is not automatically returned. The driver must complete certain procedures.

• Caught for the Second Time: Drivers whose licenses are suspended for 2 years must successfully complete the “Driver Behavior Development Training” (SÜDGE), provided by institutions authorized by the Ministry of Health, to get their licenses back at the end of this period.

• Caught for the Third Time: The situation is even more serious for those whose licenses are suspended for 5 years. These individuals must undergo a psycho-technical evaluation and an examination by a psychiatrist to get their licenses back. Their licenses are only returned if they receive a positive report stating “there is no obstacle to driving” as a result of these tests.

Procedural Violation: Refusing the Breathalyzer

One of the most important points drivers need to know is that the consequences of refusing a breathalyzer test can be much more severe than being caught driving over the legal limit. Preventing or refusing to allow law enforcement officers to determine the alcohol level with a technical device is considered a separate violation.

The penalty for this violation for 2025 is an administrative fine of 26,558 TL and suspension of the driver’s license for 2 years. This penalty is applied even if the driver has no alcohol in their blood, simply for obstructing the check.

The Criminal Dimension: The 1.00 Promil Threshold and TPC 179

When the act of drunk driving exceeds a certain limit, it ceases to be just an administrative sanction and becomes a crime under the Turkish Penal Code. This critical threshold, also referenced in KTK Article 48, is 1.00 promil.

Turkish Penal Code Article 179:

(1) Any person who causes danger to the life, health, or property of others by changing, rendering unusable, removing from their place, giving false signals, placing objects on passage, arrival, departure, or landing routes, or interfering with the technical operating system of any sign placed to ensure the safe flow of land, sea, air, or railway transportation, shall be sentenced to imprisonment from one year to six years.

(2) Any person who drives or manages land, sea, air, or railway vehicles in a manner that is dangerous to the life, health, or property of others, shall be sentenced to imprisonment from four months to two years.

(3) Any person who drives a vehicle despite being unable to safely drive and manage the vehicle due to the influence of alcohol or narcotic substances or for any other reason, shall be sentenced to imprisonment from six months to two years.

Meaning of TPC 179/3: Administrative Penalty + Prison Sentence

If a driver is found to have an alcohol level over 1.00 promil, they face two separate sanctions:

1. The administrative fine and license suspension (KTK 48) specified in the table above are applied.

2. Additionally, a judicial investigation is launched against them for the crime of “Endangering Traffic Safety” (TCK 179/3), and they are prosecuted with a demand for imprisonment from 6 months to 2 years.

Court of Cassation’s Evaluation of 1.00 Promil

The Court of Cassation may not always consider an alcohol level over 1.00 promil sufficient for the crime of TCK 179/3 to be established; it emphasizes that it must also be determined that the person is “unable to safely drive and manage the vehicle.” Although an alcohol level over 1.00 promil is a strong presumption of this condition, it is possible to prove otherwise.

Court of Cassation 12th Criminal Chamber, E. 2016/3381, K. 2016/9737:

The defendant, who was found to have 57 promil alcohol in a report taken two hours after the incident… it was determined that the defendant, who was driving in his own lane, had no fault… considering that the alcohol level drops between 0.12-0.20 promil per hour, the defendant was under 100 promil (1.00 promil) at the time of the incident, and also considering that there was no other evidence or finding that the defendant had lost the ability to drive safely, the defendant must be acquitted.

In this decision, the Court of Cassation calculated that the driver was below 1.00 promil at the time of the accident and, most importantly, determined that he had no fault in the accident (had not lost the ability to drive safely), thus acquitting him of the TCK 179/3 crime. This is an important precedent showing that not every case over 1.00 promil will automatically result in a conviction under TCK 179.

What is Promil? Scientific Explanation and Effects

Promil is a technical unit of measurement expressing the alcohol concentration in the blood. The word, meaning “per mille” (one-thousandth), legally refers to the amount of pure alcohol in milligrams (mg) per 100 milliliters (ml) of blood. For example, the legal limit of 0.50 promil means that there are 50 mg of pure alcohol in every 100 ml of a driver’s blood.

Mental and Physical Impairment by Promil Level

• 0.20 Promil: A slight change in mood, an increase in risk-taking tendency, and a weakening of the ability to anticipate dangers begin.

• 0.50 Promil (Legal Limit): A significant decrease in attention, impaired coordination, and judgment begin. Reaction time extends dangerously, and following lanes becomes difficult.

• 0.80 Promil: Obvious impairment in coordination and perception abilities is observed. The risk of an accident increases more than tenfold compared to a sober driver.

• 1.00 Promil and Over (Criminal Threshold): Obvious signs of intoxication, loss of balance, and severe loss of reflexes occur. Vehicle control is almost completely lost, and the matter moves from an administrative sanction to a criminal proceeding.

Individual Factors Affecting Promil Value

The promil levels of two different people who consume the same amount of alcohol can vary significantly based on the following factors:

• Gender: Women’s body composition (higher fat/lower water ratio) causes alcohol to reach a more concentrated level in the blood.

• Body Weight: People with lower body weight have less total blood volume, so promil levels rise faster.

• Metabolism and Stomach Fullness: Alcohol consumed on an empty stomach is absorbed much faster, causing promil levels to spike.

These data show that legal limits like 0.50 promil do not represent a “safe” driving level, but the “absolute limit” of tolerance set by the state for applying administrative sanctions. The only absolute safety standard in traffic is zero promil.

Which Drink Causes How Much Promil? (Estimated Values)

The following table shows the estimated promil values that commonly consumed drinks can produce in an average individual.

*Estimates are based on the assumption that the drink is consumed within 1 hour and the person is an average male weighing 70-80 kg. For women and individuals with lower body weight, these values can be 20-30% higher.

Measurement Processes: False Positives and Objections

1. The 15-Minute Rule (False Positives)

Since breathalyzers measure breath vapor, alcohol remaining in the mouth just before the measurement (from mouthwash, some medications, etc.) can skew the result. It is critically important to wait at least 15 minutes between the use of such factors and the test to prevent false positive results.

2. Objecting to the Breathalyzer and the Blood Test (Calculating Promil Decrease)

If the driver objects to the breathalyzer result, they are sent to a healthcare institution for a blood test. However, during this process, the body begins to eliminate alcohol. The legislator has introduced a regulation to prevent this attempt to gain time:

Highways Traffic Regulation Art. 97/3:

…the time between the two determinations… is taken into account, and the alcohol ratio is determined by the traffic unit that performed the first measurement by adding 0.15 promil for each hour to the result of the determination made at the healthcare institution, and action is taken according to the final result.

This means: If you gave blood at the hospital 2 hours after the traffic stop and your blood alcohol was 0.25 promil, the authorities will add (2 hours x 0.15 promil = 0.30 promil) to this value and process your legal promil level as 0.25 + 0.30 = 0.55 promil.