The relaxed approach to traffic laws in Europe is astounding. As my travel-buddies and I made our way through Amsterdam, we were nearly run over. The trouble came not only from inconsiderate drivers, but mad bicyclists as well. In Rome, a combination of cars and mopeds clogged the streets. Even efficient, organized Switzerland has a surprisingly limited number of stoplights.

As we mostly walked or took the metro in all of these cities, our experience with crazy drivers was limited to trying to avoid them. In Istanbul, however, we found ourselves in the car with fast company. We had made several Turkish friends in Binghamton thanks to the dual-diploma program, and they graciously hosted us when our travels brought us to their shores.

During our journey across Europe we visited some less-than-glamourous neighborhoods, but I never feared for my life more than when I was in the car with our new Turkish guides. One of them, Mehmet, drove his 2006 Ford Focus like a sports car, zooming around curves at 60 miles per hour. Of course, there are no speed limits there.

Driving across the bridge that connects the European and Asian sides of Turkey was another life-threatening experience. There are tolls, but no lines ‘ just hundreds of cars passing through minuscule spaces and honking at each other in an attempt to eventually make it to the other side.

Based on the way my Turkish friends drive in their native country, I must say the number of accidents they get into over here is hardly surprising. I admit that driving and surviving in Istanbul requires a certain amount of reckless skill, but driving like that in America is just reckless. Whether it is because they do not want to adhere to American traffic laws or because they don’t know the laws is unclear. It is obvious, however, that not requiring them to pass a test to drive here is hazardous to the domestics.

I know a girl pulled over for going 100 miles per hour (this can be considered anything from reckless endangerment to intent to kill, depending on the state). I know another girl who actually hit a pedestrian on this very campus. I know several who have been in accidents, with varying degrees of severity. I’m not saying that Americans don’t commit the same road crimes; of course they do. But if we could lessen the number of accidents caused by foreigners by requiring them to take American driver’s education, why wouldn’t we?

Most of the Turkish drivers I know do not even have an international license, only their Turkish one (which, obviously, is in Turkish and therefore impossible for most Americans to read). If most bars Downtown won’t accept this form of ID, why should the police? America has infinitely more signs, traffic lights and general rules about driving than most foreign countries.

I cannot speak for the entire Turkish population of America or even Binghamton, nor do I mean to pick only on Turks. There are probably hundreds of foreign visitors without U.S. driver’s licenses wreaking havoc across the States. I am only using them as an example to show that driving laws for foreigners should be more stringent.