Billboards along roads a threat to commuters in Amritsar

Amritsar, September 26

The mushrooming of electronic or digital billboards along roadsides in the city are posing a threat to commuters.

These electronic advertising boards are a new fad. Most of these can be found on the Mall Road, Malviya Road, Queen’s Road, Cooper Road, Bhandari railway overbridge, GT road and other commercial prime locations.

Huge digital boards are installed along high-density traffic intersections and roads. These divert people’s attention away from driving. Most of the roads have become vulnerable due to these screens. —Sumit, A resident

What intrigues vigilant city residents is that most of these have come up along those roads which experience never-ending flow of traffic. However, experts are of the view that electronic billboards have an effect on gaze behaviour as they attract more glances than regular traffic signs.

Anil Vinayak, a resident of Race Course Road, said mushrooming of digital boards along the intersections and stretches was permissible under the law. “Obviously, these are violations of traffic rules and the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC) was permitting these without taking into account its traffic hazard, which can cause accidents.”

Sumit Singh, another city resident, said big day and night digital screens grab eyeball attention swiftly and for a longer duration. Moreover, these boards are installed along high density traffic intersections and roads. So these easily take people’s attention away from driving. Already, traffic-related accidents are high in the city. Most of the city roads and crossings have become vulnerable owing to these big screens.

People are concerned that roadside digital advertising compromise road safety.