Billboards evoke road safety concerns

Excessive brightness, frequent image changes among other factors, distract drivers

LAHORE:

As the country strives to match the developmental expectations of urbanisation, in a world increasingly hegemonized by consumer capitalism, a failure to regulate the placement and operation of digital billboards, unravels a new road hazard.

In its relentless efforts to generate much needed revenue, the provincial government has haphazardly undertaken the task of installing digital billboards at various green belt junctions in the city, without devising proper regulations and guidelines - which are indispensable in reducing distracted driving and subsequent accidents.

“The past few years have witnessed a sporadic rise in the number of digital billboards in Lahore with numerous big enterprises moving to computerised advertising,” informed Sharjeel Ahmed, an advertiser. “However, unlike developed countries, no specific regulations exist, which monitor the placement and operation of these billboards,” he added.

According to on-ground survey by The Express Tribune, multiple, kilometre long installations of countless digital billboards across the green belt have sprung up in areas like Allama Iqbal Town, Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Gulberg, Johar Town and Model Town, albeit without any regulations determining their level of brightness and image change frequency; which is crucial to prevent road mishaps.

Where most developed countries like the United Kingdom (UK) clearly specify the permitted level of luminance, rate of change of images and font and placement of the digital billboards, for the ones in Pakistan, such standards of advertisement regulation do not exist.

With a majority of the billboards excessively bright, drivers are posed with an increasing risk of distraction since the strong flashes of beaming light strains their eyes, thus diverting their attention from the road for far longer than would be considered safe.

Ehtisham Sadiq, a driver with an implanted eye, while talking to The Express Tribune expressed his annoyance with the billboards. “With my vision already compromised, the bright glare of the consecutive digital billboards, playing the same visuals over and over, puts immense tension on my eyes, making it extremely challenging for me to focus on my driving.”

Others similarly complained that the high frequency of changes in the advertisements and their small font size further contributes towards the degree of distraction that drivers are faced with since most struggle to read or watch the advertisements.

“Digital billboards, the world over, are meant to draw the attention of the drivers, however how much attention they draw, must be regulated by the authorities so that any possible road hazard could be minimised,” suggested Bushra Shahid, a driving school instructor.

Concurring with Bushra’s judgement, Khalid Majeed, a retired professor, shared his own experience of road accidents due to unregulated digital billboards. “I have had a fender bender many times just because the driver was visibly lost in the overly bright, quickly changing digital advertisements,” he said.

In his response to the complaints of the citizens posited by The Express Tribune, Director of Marketing at the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), Muhammad Usman conceded that the PHA had not devised proper technical rules and regulations for the operation of the billboards, in terms of their brightness, change frequency and font size. “However, certain standards have been set by the Outdoor Advertising Association Lahore,” he added quickly.

When asked about these standards, Adyan Sadiq Lone, Chairman of the Outdoor Advertising Association Lahore, replied that a maximum of eight advertisements can run continuously, whereas the hoardings are shut down every four hours. “Digital hoardings are a modern mode of marketing and are no more a risk to drivers than are mobile phones,” added Lone, matter-of-factly while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2023.