Effects of the Increase in Motor Vehicles on Environmental Protection Expenditures and Traffic Safety: An Examination Using Grey Incidence Analysis Method

Global environmental pollution is increasingly becoming one of today's most pressing issues, and the situation is becoming increasingly alarming day by day due to greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change. Industrialization and urban growth adversely affect the quality of air, water, and soil, reduce biological diversity, and endanger human health. In this regard, increasing and efficiently using environmental protection expenditures is a crucial criterion for reducing harmful emissions as well as achieving sustainable development goals. The increase in the number of motor vehicles has a significant impact on environmental protection expenditures. Exhaust gases from vehicles are one of the main causes of air pollution, which, especially in large cities, reduces air quality. Increasing air pollution causes health problems as well as environmental damage, forcing governments and local administrations to allocate more financial resources to improve air quality and reduce emissions. In this study, using data obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) for the period 2013-2022, grey relational grades of environmental protection expenditures, greenhouse gas emissions, and the number of road accidents according to the number of motor vehicles were calculated. It can be observed that the expenditure on environmental protection for motor vehicles, for which the grey-scale relationships have been separated, is approximately 78%. Additionally, the greenhouse gas emissions are approximately 95%, while the number of road accidents is approximately 98%.