The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Attraction or distraction?

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Thursday, Feb 28, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Attraction or distraction?

Chitra V. Ramani and Raghava M.

Some commercials on LCD hoardings are making motorists start a tad late

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

EYE-CATCHERS: The LCD advertisement hoarding at Minsk Square in Bangalore.

Bangalore: An advertisement for Jodha Akbar beams brightly from the new LCD hoarding put up at the Cubbon Road-Queen’s Road junction by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Eyeballs that should be on the traffic signal shift to the arresting images. An accident waiting to happen?

This is the scene on a routine day at peak traffic hours at the Minsk Square. The busy junction is flooded with light, and a few motorists, who spoke to The Hindu, complained about the distraction that could turn out to be fatal.

Many motorists The Hindu spoke to said the LCD hoarding was most distracting. “After the LCD hoarding was put up, the vehicular traffic at the junction has become slow. People seem to continue to look at the advertisements even after the signal has changed, which complicates matters for those at the back,” said a motorist.

Another said that many vehicles were not able to take the free left turn at the junction to head towards Cubbon Road as motorists going straight towards Chinnaswamy Stadium go ahead and block the left, to get a better view of the LCD hoarding. “We have to honk several times to get them to respond. The advertisements screened often show skimpily clad women, which seem to attract their attention. What is worse, I have noticed motorists even discussing the advertisements.”

Lakshman Chinnaswamy, an autorickshaw driver, differs. “It is like watching television while waiting for the signal to change,” he said.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Security) Praveen Sood said the advertisements on the LCD hoarding do distract the riders and drivers. “The advertisements affect their defensive driving skills.” While the LCD may be a good way to earn revenue, it should not be at the cost of safety of motorists.

Another senior official said that since the LCD screen was behind the traffic signal, it diverted the attention of the motorists, who continue to look at the hoarding and not at the signal. “This often results in the slowing down of the vehicular movement at the busy junction,” he said.

The BBMP earlier asked the opinion of the traffic police to put up an LCD screen at the Anil Kumble Circle on Mahatma Gandhi Road. However, this time, the police claim they were not consulted. Moreover, they said they could not interfere since the hoarding was on a private property. “If it were to be either on the pavement or the road, the traffic police would have the right to intervene,” the official said.

S. Subramanya, BBMP Commissioner, said that whenever new things were introduced, people tend to look at it more than required. The purpose of advertisements was to distract the attention of the people from whatever they were doing.

The LCD hoarding was put up only after the BBMP officials found that studies showed that no major accident was said to have happened because of the LCD hoarding.

“It is well-tested. Several cities throughout the world have LCD hoardings at busy junctions. The chances of a major accident at the junction are less, as the motorists will not be riding or driving at great speed. There is a traffic signal, which reduces the chances of that happening further.”

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