Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu admitted to speeding on a highway near Ankara after posting a video promoting government road projects, a clip that drew widespread criticism on social media.
On Sunday Uraloğlu shared a video of himself driving on the Ankara–Niğde highway, writing on X that the footage was a “souvenir of the Ankara–Niğde highway with Turkish folk songs.” He added that when fatigued, his team drew inspiration from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, saying, “We have not worked hard enough.”
Ankara – Niğde Otoyolu’nun son durumunu görmek amacıyla direksiyona geçtim. Bu esnada farkında olmadan hız sınırını kısa bir süre de olsa aştım. İlgili video ile de kendimi ihbar etmiş oldum.
Hız sınırlarına riayet etmek herkes için zorunlu bir durumdur.
Otoyol Jandarmamız… https://t.co/RRTv7lYfIe pic.twitter.com/A9bkUeKSPS
— Abdulkadir URALOĞLU (@a_uraloglu) August 24, 2025
The video quickly attracted criticism after users noted the minister was driving at 225 kilometers per hour (140 mph), nearly twice the legal limit.
In response, Uraloğlu posted a follow-up statement on X along with an image of the traffic ticket he received. He said he had briefly exceeded the speed limit without realizing it and was fined 9,267 lira ($280) by the highway gendarmerie.
“With the related video, I effectively reported myself,” he wrote. “Speed limits apply to everyone. The necessary penalty was issued by the highway gendarmerie. I would like to inform the public that I will be much more careful from now on.”
The admission did little to calm criticism. One X user questioned whether no one on the minister’s team had warned him that posting a video of a traffic violation could be problematic.
Another called on him to resign, writing: “If someone responsible for setting the rules on the road violates them, he should resign immediately. I invite you to an honorable resignation. Also, you did not report yourself, you fined yourself after facing public backlash. I hope you do not punish the officer who issued the ticket.”
The Ankara–Niğde highway is one of Turkey’s major infrastructure projects, promoted as part of the government’s push to expand the country’s road network. The road consists of a 275-kilometer main route and 55 kilometers of connecting roads, with a total length of 330 kilometers.
Uraloğlu, who had been serving as the director general of highways since July 2018, was appointed minister of transport and infrastructure by President Erdoğan in June 2023.
Turkey’s maximum highway speed limit is 140 kilometers per hour (87 mph). Last year, 6,351 people were killed in nearly 1.5 million road accidents, according to official data.