85. Today in 1920s Turkey: 14 May 1927 (PSA: Pedestrians, Use the Sidewalks!)

(Announcement, Karagöz, 14 May 1927, no. 1999, page 2.)

English
The streets belong to automobiles, cars, and trollies. Pedestrians, do not step off of the sidewalks, you will get chewed up!

Türkçe
Caddeler otomobillere, arabalara, tramvaylara aittir. Yayalar yan kaldırımdan inmeyiniz, çiğnenirsiniz!

Comments:
Conceivably there was a time in history when sidewalks and heavy traffic were new additions to the daily struggles of life. First, man avoided predators, then false prophets and tyrants, and now he falls victim to modern machines. At such moments of transition and adjustment it is not unusual to see announcements warning the public of the newest safety threat lurking around the corner. Notices or announcements designed to help citizens navigate the increasingly high-paced, changing public space provide particularly interesting windows into the past.

Traffic accidents had an especially bad effect on the public psyched as they struck unexpectedly and in a very visible way. Before traffic accidents, in an urban setting, how often might one happen upon a dismembered body in the street? Not very often, I assume. But with the increase in cars and consequently car accidents pedestrian deaths became an issue of public safety and Karagöz, as was usually the case, took it upon itself to publish a public service announcement reminding readers to use the sidewalk, lest they be “chewed up” by oncoming traffic.

In order to be as clear as possible in its message, the PSA includes a small image consisting of a man-driven car running over a pedestrian who is screaming in agony. Poke out from the left into the frame is the head of a bearded man, Karagöz to be precise. Karagöz, identifiable by his uniquely flamboyant hat (and beard) is the mascot of this very journal which bears the name of this Turkish shadow puppetry character. Thus, Karagöz personally warns his readers of the perils of walking on the streets instead of the sidewalks, using both text and image.

So pervasive was the problem of traffic accidents that Today in 1920s Turkey has covered several instances where the deadly effects of transportation devices such as the trolley and automobile were the topic of conversation as early as the twenties. See:

2. Today in 1920s Turkey: 4 August 1927 (Trafik Canavarı or The Beast of Bad Driving)

55. Today in 1920s Turkey: 1 February 1926 (Beware of the Trolley Gang!)

(Entire page, Karagöz, 14 May 1927, no. 1999, page 2.)