Buses adorned with ads featuring women distract motorists

Buses adorned with ads featuring women distract motorists
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) may be earning some revenue by displaying various advertisements on its buses, but they are proving to be a major distraction for motorists on busy city roads.

Traffic Engineering and Safety Trust (TEST) Chairman, M N Sreehari says that since these buses are in constant motion, they are a major source of distraction. The percentage of display should be fixed and complete paint on them should be banned. The drivers should be able to see the roads clearly.

Riders opine that the advertisements displayed on the buses are a major source of distraction. On the other hand, transport and police officials say that neon signs can also be a distraction. But these must be seen as sources of income.

Managing Director of BMTC, Upendra Tripathy told this website’s newspaper that there are no rules stating that the buses should not have ads displayed on them. They are an additional source of revenue to the department and BMTC buses are getting noticed this way at least.’ Norms are present, regarding visibility from inside but not necessarily for the size of the ad.

The department is keen on displaying ads, which have social messages. These prove to be the most powerful source of communication on Wednesday because of their mobility,’’ he added.

Transport Commissioner M C Narayan Gowda added that they are not as distracting as hoarding and neon signs. ‘‘But BMTC is violating norms by painting the entire bus with ads. They cannot violate the laws as per their whims and fancies. There should be some set standards and aesthetics sense must be adhered to.’’

Police officials on the other hand opine that ads displayed on the buses are not as distracting as are the women and the neon signs.

‘‘According to a study in the the Western countries, the ads on buses are not distractive.’’