How Does Drink-Driving Affect Motor Insurance in Türkiye?

Where the Legislation Draws the Line

Drink-driving does not translate into a single insurance rule. Türkiye's compulsory motor liability policy and the kasko own damage policy attach different consequences to the same event; this article sets the two rulebooks side by side.

First the threshold. Article 48 of Road Traffic Law No. 2918 prohibits driving by those who have taken narcotic or stimulant substances and by drivers under the influence of alcohol. Article 97 of the Road Traffic Regulation fixes the level: over 0.50 per mille of blood alcohol in a private car, over 0.20 elsewhere.

Article 48 also sets the administrative sanction: a driver found over 0.50 per mille has their licence withdrawn for six months. Counting back five years from the latest breach, that becomes two years on the second occasion and five years from the third onwards. Fine amounts are revalued each calendar year, so no figure is given here.

Above 1.00 per mille, Article 179/3 of the Turkish Penal Code applies in addition. These are traffic law consequences; the insurance consequence is separate and differs between the two policies.

Under Motor Liability Cover the Insurer Pays, Then Claims Back

Under compulsory motor liability cover alcohol is a recourse ground, not an exclusion. Article B.4 builds this in two steps.

The first step protects the injured party: circumstances arising from the contract, or the statute governing it, that would remove or reduce the indemnity obligation cannot be raised against them. Article 95 of Law No. 2918 states the same rule. The victim is not left uncompensated because the other driver had been drinking.

The second step turns back on the insured: having paid, the insurer may claim against the insured, to the extent the indemnity could have been removed or reduced. Subparagraph (c) expressly lists loss occurring while the vehicle was driven by persons who had taken narcotics, or consumed alcohol above the level fixed in the legislation. The compulsory liability policy protects the other party, not the drinking driver.

The closing sentence adds a further protection: the insurer may not delay the indemnity process by relying on recourse grounds, nor demand documents relating to them from the claimant. The victim's file cannot be held while the alcohol report is awaited.

Under Kasko the Loss Falls Outside Cover

On the kasko side the mechanism reverses. Article A.5 of the Land Vehicles Own Damage general conditions lists excluded losses; clause 5.5 covers loss occurring while the vehicle was driven by persons who had taken narcotics, consumed alcohol above the level fixed in the Road Traffic Regulation, or who may not drink at all under that legislation.

The clause refers straight to the Road Traffic Regulation, so the kasko threshold is not open to interpretation: 0.50 per mille in a private car, 0.20 in other vehicles.

The split is clear. The liability policy pays first and recovers afterwards; kasko places the loss outside cover from the start, so no payment leaves the kasko policy for your own vehicle.

The Two Policies Side by Side

The same accident produces the following picture. Every row is drawn from the corresponding clause of the general conditions.

Leaving the Scene Is a Separate Recourse Ground

The list of recourse grounds was widened by a 2026 amendment. Subparagraph (f) of Article B.4 now treats the insured, or persons the insured answers for, leaving the scene — or breaching the duty to have the accident report, alcohol report and similar documents drawn up — as a recourse ground in its own right.

Two exceptions apply: moving away for personal safety, and mandatory situations such as going to a health facility for treatment. Otherwise leaving the scene creates a separate recourse heading even where no alcohol was recorded.

A parallel provision exists on the kasko side: clause 5.10 excludes the driver leaving the scene to prevent identification, in connection with breaches of clauses 5.4 and 5.5, save in mandatory situations. Staying at the scene is a policy question too.

The Other Items on the Same List

Alcohol does not stand alone in either rulebook. Neighbouring headings come up just as often:

• Driving licence: clause 5.4 of the kasko conditions excludes loss occurring while the vehicle is driven by persons without the required licence. Under the liability policy this is a recourse ground under Article B.4/b.
• Gross fault: Article B.4/a covers intentional acts and gross fault; B.4/b covers breaches of traffic rules committed with gross fault.
• Passengers and load: Article B.4/ç lists carrying passengers without a passenger transport licence, exceeding the established load capacity, and the ignition or explosion of dangerous goods carried without a licence. Clause 5.8 of the kasko conditions excludes loss arising solely from exceeding the registered load capacity.
• Refusing the test: Article 48 of Law No. 2918 provides for an administrative fine and withdrawal of the licence where a driver refuses police measurement. On the insurance side, Article B.4/f lists failure to have the accident documents — the alcohol report included — drawn up among the recourse grounds.

What We Put in Writing as an Agency

RYL Sigorta Aracılık Hizmetleri Limited Şirketi is an insurance agency. The policy is issued by the insurance company, any indemnity is paid by it, and any recourse decision is taken by it. Our part is to make sure these clauses are stated when the policy is arranged.

Two sentences come up more than any others: the liability policy protects the other party, not you against recourse; and kasko pays nothing for your own vehicle where the driver was over the limit. Both are written plainly, and both belong at inception rather than at claim stage.

To read the clauses your own policy carries, use the quotation form. We cover the compulsory policy in our motor liability article, and having none at all in our uninsured accident article.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• General Conditions of Compulsory Motor Third Party Liability Insurance — Turkish Legislation Information System
• General Conditions of Land Vehicles Own Damage (Kasko) Insurance — SEDDK
• Road Traffic Law No. 2918 — Turkish Legislation Information System
• Road Traffic Regulation — Turkish Legislation Information System

This article is for information only; the scope of cover is set by the policy’s specific and general terms.