Saturday, Dec 22, 2007
Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: Outdoor advertisements demand attention, but senior traffic officials says that these must not distract motorists.
Speaking to Gulf News, Major Engineer Hussain Al Harthy, head of the road engineering and traffic management section of the Abu Dhabi Police Traffic Department said, "Outdoor advertisements could be dangerous if they distract drivers. Before any advertisement is put up, it needs to conform to a set of rules for safety reasons."
"Driving demands concentration on the roads and the person behind the wheels cannot afford to read through long advertisements."
Colours like red and green are not allowed to be used on advertisements near intersections to avoid confusing drivers. Guidelines are given to companies dealing with outdoor marketing to ensure they do not become traffic hazards, he said.
Driving skills
Complaints lead to immediate removal of any advertisement causing distraction, Al Harthy said, adding that they have pulled down advertisements in the past for similar reasons.
We took to the streets to find out if motorists feel that the proliferation of outdoor advertisements is hindering their driving skills.
"Colourful billboards are becoming the norm in every city. So why not here? Sensible drivers would not wait to read through long advertisements before driving on," said Sameena Ali Bashar, a bank employee.
Agreeing with this, Ogrodzinski Marian, an engineer said, "I do not think they pose a hazard or cause many accidents."
"Billboards are amusing...its just something fun to watch out for on the otherwise boring roads," said Abdul Aziz Al Hattab, a sales person.
Leeja Sussan Jacob, a bank employee, said that even small driving errors result in accidents so 'better to be safe than sorry.' According to her, flashy billboards do get the attention of drivers.
Another motorist, Huzam Al Kindi, a marketing professional, said, "It is in the best interest of advertisers to make their advertisements in bigger letters. This can be read easily and do not cause any trouble. It's a win-win."
Gulf News 2007. All rights reserved.
