Driving Safety During Ramadan

15/02/2026

Let's Carry the Blessings of Ramadan to the Roads: Time for Patience and Tolerance

We will observe the Holy Ramadan, the Sultan of Eleven Months, with great joy this year from February 19 to March 19. This blessed period, which is a month of love, tolerance, and purification for the Muslim world, reminds us once again of patience and empathy. While we rest our souls through our fasting worship, it is of great importance that we reflect the serenity brought by this spiritual atmosphere onto traffic as well.

For both our own safety and the peace of our loved ones, we must be more careful in traffic and maintain our patience. To prevent potential crashes and to spend Ramadan peacefully, there are some important points regarding traffic rules and driving safety that we would like to highlight.

Ramadan and Traffic

1. Prolonged Hunger

Prolonged hunger and thirst during Ramadan can lead to a drop in glucose levels (hypoglycemia), which is the body's primary energy source. Research shows that low blood sugar limits the brain's cognitive functions. This situation leads to risky consequences for drivers, such as distraction, a slowed decision making process, and weakened reflexes against sudden events. The slowing of mental processes increases the risk of crashes by prolonging the time required to notice a potential danger in traffic.

Action Plan for Safe Driving

Never ignore the signals your body gives you. Do not persist in driving the moment you feel sudden dizziness, temporary vision loss, extreme fatigue, or mental distraction.

Stop Immediately: Pull the vehicle to a safe area and turn off the ignition.
Take a Break: Get fresh air if possible and pause driving until your blood sugar stabilizes or you feel more alert.
Do Not Take Risks: Arriving late to your destination is far better than a potential crash; avoid risky maneuvers in the rush to make it to iftar time.

2. Waking Up for Sahur and Disruption of Sleep Patterns

The sleep pattern interrupted for sahur during Ramadan can affect our biological clock (circadian rhythm) and make it difficult to complete sleep cycles. Interruption of the most efficient stages of sleep leads to the accumulation of "sleep debt". This situation paves the way for short term distraction episodes called "micro sleep" in drivers during the day, where brain functions shut down for seconds.

A micro sleep of 2 to 3 seconds experienced in a vehicle moving at high speed means the vehicle travels hundreds of meters in an uncontrolled manner. This situation, which occurs unconsciously, brings with it a serious risk of crash by causing lane violations, running off the road, and complete loss of reaction time.

Sleep Action Plan for a Safe Ramadan

6 to 7 Hour Rule Plan your sahur schedule to reach a total of at least 6 to 7 hours of quality and uninterrupted sleep during the day. If night sleep is interrupted, take care to complete this duration during the day.
Critical First Week It takes time for the body's biological clock to adapt to the new sleep and nutrition pattern. Therefore, the first week of Ramadan is the period when the risk of distraction and fatigue is highest; extra sensitivity should be shown to sleep discipline in this process.
Fatigue Signals Do not persist in driving when you feel symptoms such as heavy eyelids, frequent yawning, or difficulty keeping your head up. If possible, refresh your mind by taking a short nap (power nap).

3. Dehydration

Not consuming fluids all day during Ramadan disrupts the body's water and electrolyte balance. This situation should not be perceived merely as a simple feeling of thirst; dehydration causes cognitive performance to decline. The risk of severe headache, dizziness, mental confusion, and sudden intense fatigue increases in a driver who does not consume enough fluid.

Research shows that even mild dehydration can lead to drops in attention and concentration levels similar to driving under the influence of alcohol. Slowing of reflexes and weakening of the decision making mechanism significantly increase instantaneous errors and the risk of potential crashes in traffic.

Action Plan for Fluid Balance

Spread Out Consumption Instead of consuming the water the body needs all at once, drinking it by spreading it out over the time period between iftar and sahur is the healthiest method. This allows the body to use water more efficiently.
Water Priority Tea, coffee, and carbonated drinks do not replace water; on the contrary, they may cause more fluid to be excreted from the body due to their diuretic properties. Your priority should always be water consumption.
Sahur Supplement Greeting the day by drinking a sufficient amount of water at sahur helps you protect your driving safety by preventing symptoms such as headache and fatigue.

4. Iftar Time and Traffic

The increasing "rush anxiety" in drivers as iftar time approaches significantly disrupts risk perception in traffic. This situation, defined as "time pressure" in psychology, pushes the driver towards impatience and aggressive driving behaviors. The fear of being late for iftar leads to exceeding speed limits, disregarding following distances, and risky lane changes.

These drivers under stress tend to ignore traffic lights and pedestrians. The state of "target fixation" reduces environmental awareness and constitutes the main cause of severe crashes occurring in urban traffic, especially minutes before iftar time.

Action Plan for Safe Arrival

Early Planning (30 to 40 Minute Rule) Plan your journey to be at the destination at least 30 to 40 minutes before iftar time. This time buffer protects you from stress against unexpected traffic congestion.
Plan B (Safe Parking) If traffic is heavier than you expected or you are delayed, accept the situation instead of taking risks and speeding. Definitely keep water and dates or snacks in your vehicle.
Safety First If you are still in traffic when iftar time arrives, pull your vehicle to the first suitable and safe parking area (gas station, pocket, etc.) and break your fast. Remember; reaching your loved ones late is much better than never reaching them at all.

5. After Iftar

Heavy, fatty, and carbohydrate rich foods consumed suddenly and quickly at iftar tables cause blood sugar levels to rise rapidly in the body. This situation results in the digestive system demanding intense energy; the body redirects blood flow from the brain and muscles to the stomach. This physiological process, known as "postprandial somnolence" (post meal sleepiness) in medical literature, creates an unavoidable feeling of heaviness, lethargy, and difficulty focusing in the driver.

Getting behind the wheel immediately after iftar means straining your reflexes at a moment when the body enters "rest and digest" mode. This state of drowsiness leads to closing of eyes and distraction during driving and is one of the hidden causes of crashes that occur especially during night hours.

Action Plan for Digestion and Safe Driving

Give Time (30 to 40 Minute Rule) Do not set off as soon as you get up from the table. Give your body at least 30 to 40 minutes for the digestive system to get over the initial intensity and for blood flow to return to normal.
Get Moving A short and light walk you take during this waiting period will reduce the feeling of lethargy by accelerating your metabolism.

6. Driver Psychology

Prolonged hunger triggers the body's stress mechanism along with the drop in blood sugar. This biological tension can lead to "intolerance" and sudden outbursts of anger in drivers. In traffic, even small mistakes that could be tolerated in normal times can turn into causes of major conflict in the state of hunger.

During Ramadan, especially in the hours close to iftar, your probability of encountering drivers making aggressive maneuvers, honking unnecessarily, or violating following distance increases. This "road rage" invites not only verbal arguments but also serious and dangerous crashes.

Conflict Avoidance and Safety Action Plan

Stay Passive (Do Not Get Into Arguments) The safest reaction to give to an aggressive driver you encounter in traffic is unresponsiveness. Even if you are right, entering into an argument with a tense driver never solves the situation; on the contrary, it increases the risk.
Avoid Eye Contact Making eye contact with an angry driver can be perceived psychologically as a "challenge" or "threat". Focus your gaze on the road and ignore the person across from you.
Watch Body Language The slightest hand or arm movement or gesture you make from inside the vehicle can be perceived as a much greater insult from the outside. Keep your hands on the steering wheel and cut off communication completely.
Give Priority Let the hasty or angry driver pass by. Instead of being stubborn with a momentary anger, aim to reach your home and loved ones safely.

7. Smoking Consumption

First of all, it must be stated that smoking is an extremely harmful habit that threatens human health and leads to fatal diseases. However, during Ramadan, the indirect risks this harmful addiction creates on driving safety should not be ignored. Nicotine withdrawal combined with prolonged hunger creates tension, hand tremors, restlessness, and focusing problems in the driver.

Especially when iftar time approaches or immediately after breaking the fast, the driver's rush to light a cigarette (searching for a lighter, lighting the flame, blowing the smoke) creates a serious "physical distraction" that causes detachment from driving. The driver who takes their hand and eye off the steering wheel remains completely defenseless against the risk of a possible crash.

Action Plan

Never Consume During Driving Aside from the health harms of smoking, consuming it inside the vehicle lowers the oxygen level and increases fatigue and carbon monoxide levels. It also causes deterioration of hand eye coordination. If you feel the need, definitely stop in a safe place and be outside the vehicle.
Deep Breath To manage the tension created by nicotine withdrawal, balance your pulse by doing deep breathing exercises while driving.

8. Pedestrian Safety

Pedestrian activity peaks during two critical time periods during Ramadan: The rush before iftar and the time of Tarawih prayer.

Before Iftar Do not forget that pedestrians may also be careless due to low blood sugar and may suddenly dash onto the road.
Tarawih Time Especially during isha and tarawih times, there is a serious density of pedestrians and vehicles around mosques and places of worship areas. In the dark of night, it becomes difficult to notice pedestrians who generally wear dark colored clothes. Furthermore, the possibility of the elderly and children stepping onto the road uncontrollably at mosque exits increases the risk of crashes in these regions.

Action Plan

Maximum Attention Around Mosques Drop your speed even below the legal limit when passing near mosques during Tarawih hours.
Visibility Check Do not assume pedestrians see you. Be ready to stop at any moment, especially in side streets with insufficient lighting and at crosswalks.
Respect and Patience Remember that pedestrians may also be fasting or tired, and always give them priority.