Learn Turkish: Araba savruldu ve direğe çarpayazdı. - The car swerved and almost crashed into the pole.

This uses the approximative structure -(y)Ayazmak, which means "to almost do" something. It combines the verb root çarp- (crash/hit) + -a (the connecting vowel) + yaz- + -dı (past tense). Together, it means "it almost crashed."

Could we use the word neredeyse (almost) instead of the -ayazmak suffix?

Yes! The -(y)Ayazmak suffix can sound a bit literary, dramatic, or old-fashioned. In everyday spoken Turkish, it is actually much more common to use an adverb like neredeyse or az kalsın with the standard past tense: neredeyse çarptı (it almost crashed).

Why is the word for pole, direk, spelled direğe in this sentence?

The verb çarpmak (to hit/crash) requires the dative case (to/into) for the object being hit. When we add the dative suffix -e to direk, the final k undergoes consonant mutation and softens into a ğ, making it direğe.

Savruldu is translated as "swerved," but what does the root verb literally mean?

The verb savrulmak is the passive form of savurmak (to toss, hurl, or scatter). So literally, the car "was tossed around" or "was thrown off course." This passive construction is the standard way Turkish expresses a vehicle swerving, skidding, or spinning out of control.