Billboard Advertisement: A Visual PollutionAuthor: Nusrat Azeema

And

Shazia Hashmat

nusratazeemaraja@gmail.com

Abstract

The new upcoming pollution which is rapidly increasing the causes of accident and road’s death

cases is Visual pollution. Now in the Pakistan where traffic is like a race and competition and

every one want to won this race and achieve their destination. But sometimes, situation becomes

opposite and those who want to go as soon as possible at their home, office or any place they

reached in the hospital or in the graveyard. The experts said the images grab more attention than

words and now the style, color and boldness of words also grab the attention of the drivers,

passengers and all the people of the world. History witnesses that advertiser build huge, gigantic

and massive billboards for popular any product or service which grab their viewership and

audience. But now many cases tell us that, the billboard creates Visual Pollution and become a

cause of road accident.

The present research paper to assess the effect of billboard on visuals and how much drivers get

tensed because of Electronic or Print billboards. It also covers the rules and regulations of

billboard placement and identifies the factors which overcome the side effect of Visual Pollution.

It was concluded that publicity through billboard is necessary for products but the placement of

billboard must be according to policy. Because if yours billboard position create hurdles or

distract driver’s attention and it cause for an accident then you are the responsible for that loss of

nation and home. In that research I conclude that billboards not only create visual pollution it

also destroy natural habitat of birds and animals through cutting trees. Electronic billboards also

the main cause of increase in visual pollution it is the loss or waste of electricity and increase of

eyes and mind diseases.

Keywords: Billboard, visual pollution, distraction, accidents, drivers

CHAPTER # 1

INTRODUCTION

The driver’s basic duty is to run an automobile safely and carefully. The duty requires proper

concentration and focus visions. Driver should avoid to puzzling in any bustle that takes their

eyes and attentions for more than a couple of seconds from the road. In some circumstances

drivers distracted due to any outdoor inconvenience then no one can save him for any accident.

(U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, 2011.)

In a web article "What is Billboard Advertising" (June 2015) it is expressed that 'To promote a

roomy kind of items, administrations, and reasons the use of signs along roadways is called

Billboards. As a rule, announcement has an unmistakable size and spot must be utilized as a part

of these roadside publicizing battles which is really alluded to as a bulletin. All in all, the board

sign must be sufficiently expansive for a driver or traveler in a method for transportation to have

the capacity to unmistakably read the calligraphy, lettering and engraving while guiding the

vehicle along a street.

A web article "Do Digital Billboards Cause Traffic Accidents" (June 2013) says that the Jared

Bell utilized first ever conventional bulletin as a part of the United States. He used this board in

New York City he could call his own creation keeping in mind the end goal to advance carnivals

in this city. Throughout the following 30 years Bell and others went ahead to use boards. The

primary known board rental was ever recorded in 1867. It was an additional 30 years prior to an

institutionalized structure was made for bulletins to be utilized over all states. The main

promoters to use this on a national scale were Coca Cola, Palmolive and Kellogg.

In a web article "Visual Pollution" (Jan 2013), Dr. Bernard Weitzman said, Visual contamination

means sullying the climate through additional standard visuals. It can be through blurbs, notice,

announcements, handouts, flyers, flyers and boards of commercials as well as of network shows.

Each affiliation or gathering is occupied in profiting through ads and for this purpose each street

side are loaded with infectious enormous announcements. These business declarations help in

updating some business however they are a major hindrance in nature. Electronic and print

media are in rivalry with each other and in this race visual contamination is raising step by step.

It bothers individuals as well as hazardous for the movement on the grounds that these visuals

divert the consideration of driver. Particularly for advancing seasons, events and celebrations like

Lawn accumulations of planners are dispatched; new motion picture discharging declarations,

new educational system confirmation flyers and their announcements are in a vast amount to

draw in young women. While driving it advances and can direct to mishaps. The significant flaw

is that they picked busiest streets for the publicizing announcements.

In another internet article “Visual Pollution Is More than Just a Bad View” (2015) it is stated that

Visual pollution can take that things which fills the land with billboards advertising, electric and

telephone lines, street signs boards, street graffiti, traffic lights, and all that real things that

someone might consider a blot on the landscape

James J. Fazzalaro and John Rappa, Principal Analyst said in OLR research report on the topic of

“State Laws Governing Placing of Signs along Highways and on Private Property” (2006) that

any open air promoting "structure, gadget or showcase" obliges a license from the Department of

Transportation (DOT). Licenses are not needed for signs that are close to six square feet in

territory and raised by substances, for example, regions, flame locale, administration clubs, or

places of worship or clerical social orders that promote their exercises. State law additionally

forbids promoting signs inside of 100 feet of open parks, state timberlands, play areas, and

cemeteries and inside of 15 feet of the outside line of an expressway in specific situations. The

transportation chief may arrange the evacuation or change in area of any ad that impedes an

unmistakable view along the interstate. Either the chief, or the fitting nearby chose official,

contingent upon the expressway, must uproot any ad or sign showed in spite of the law.

According to Islamabad Code, “Advertisement” (p 270), “Any words, letters, model, sing,

placard, board, notice, device or representation, whether illuminated or not, in the nature of and

employed wholly or in part for the purposes of advertisement, announcement or direction, and

includes any hoarding or similar structure used or adopted for use for the display of any

advertisement”.

According to the above author advertisement relating to any pending election of the Parliament,

provincial assembly or a local body: provided that all such advertisements shall be removed

within seven (7) days after the close of the poll in the election to which the advertisements

related.

Islamabad - Mohammad Shahid, an expert of road safety, has request to the concerned

supremacy to acquire notice of the excessive use of digital billboards along roads across the

country and insist to the policymakers to impose stronger guidelines and laws in this regard to

the best interest of the road-users. In a report, he said that many developed countries, including

the USA, have controlled the digital advertising billboards, pointing out that unlike mobile

phones, the drivers cannot switch them off. He also esteemed the CDA and Islamabad police for

launching an action project against illegally fixed billboards in the city or street. The Nation,

February 09, 2015.

In an online portal “Ad Geek Daily” on Tue, Nov 20th, 2012 Khurram Jahangir Wattoo, the

Parliamentary Secretary for Cabinet Division said that no advertisements should be used which

create a public nuisance and drivers distraction. He was taking action about to a notice calling

awareness to extra-large hoardings and billboards in Islamabad that were disturbing its

surroundings.

In an online newspaper “Customs Today” on March 28, 2015 Capital Development Authority

(CDA) has set Rs600 million to Rs800 million revenue target through advertisements and

launched a drive to remove illegal installed billboards, canopies and other advertisement material

from the federal capital. The CDA has constituted teams of the Directorate of Municipal

Administration (DMA), which has initially removed 38 billboards and pylons from different

areas of Islamabad. Recently, in various operations the DMA team has removed seven illegal

rooftop billboards from F-10 Markaz and F-11. Similarly, 21 billboards of different sizes were

also removed from the Kuri Road. During another operation, of DMA completely cleared the

area of Behka Syedaan and removed four billboards installed illegally in the area. In addition to

removal of bill boards, seven pylons installed illegally in Sector E-11 were also removed.

In online print edition “The Economist” on Oct 11th 2007 Paul Meyer, the America's Clear

Channel Outdoor’s chief operating officer, said that we will prove that the ban on outdoor

advertising in São Paulo is illegal. In last September, the Brazil's biggest city councilor passed an

ordinance about banning billboards, and Clear Channel is take legal action on it.

In an online newspaper “MailOnline” Damien Gayle reported on 15 Oct 2014 that “An

advertisement which highlight the woman’s breasts. It causes 500 accidents in a day and

distracted Moscow’s male drivers - before taking possession by the police”.

Another study was done by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Tantala Associates'

“Digital Billboards Study” 9 June 2013. Conducted in 2007 and running for 3 years, the research

team start a project to find, Is digital billboards were a distraction to drivers? They established

their outcomes on the time-span of drivers who took their eyes off the road to look at a billboard.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), concerns are at

their highest when a driver’s gawk is sidetracked for 2 seconds or longer. The FHWA research

team bring into being that the longest time-span for any single driver was unfocused was 1.3

seconds. The average quick look time-span was .0835 seconds. At the time of finalization the

study, the FHWA organize some interviews of the drivers who take part in the study and bring

into being that the major aspect in creating a longest quick look time-span was the intricacy of

the general environment.

An online article “Cluttered Karachi – Increased No. of Billboards Causing Road Accidents”

(2014) reported that modern ways has opened new form of challenges for the individuals.

Although it benefits a lot but there is always two sides of the picture. And, media is the

representative of any society, it is also considered as the fourth pillar of society. Electronic and

print media have become the strongest way for getting recognition of any product, brand or

person. They use promotional advertisement with tools like bill boards, posters, pamphlets and

flyers. The purpose of these ads is to make recognition and increase sales. But in this urge they

are increasing visual pollution and destroying the scenes of nature that give soothing and

gratifying feeling in this world of crisis. Visual aids are fundamental for marketing and business

but excessive installation of bill boards are annoying while a person wants to view the

enthralling clouds, greenery and moonlight. Since the year 2014, the amount of billboards fit in

Karachi has increased by 30% reason an about to happen increase in number of accidents and the

danger to human lives

Everything has its positive and negative aspects, if it is used in limited and useful way then it is

beneficial but if used excessively then it became hazardous. So one has to always keep in mind

both sides of the picture and makes healthy lives of you and others. Don’t destroy natural beauty

and think not only about yourself but out of the box.

In an online article “Do Road Signs and Billboards Really Contribute to Car Accidents, (June

2015), Katy Lassetter said that in UK since the number of distracted materials like billboard fix

near commonplaces, the amount of road accident become increase. In 2005, Privilege Insurance’s

survey found that total 83% of UK motorists are affected when they driving by roadside

distractions like billboards. Whenever you see any diversion alongside a motorway, it catch a

glimpse like busty lady on a large poster slow your car and crane your neck to see the aftermath

of that billboard and smash driver’s vehicle and their passengers under at serious risk of

sustaining car crash injuries as a result of just a few seconds of lapsed concentration.

Visual Pollution Essay: “It's Time to Stop Billboard Advertising” (25 June 2015), has made the

observation that roadside billboards are spoil the natural landscapes and urban beauty and

become visually offensive and aggressive advertising tools. The national roadsides no longer

present America: The Beautiful, because of billboards but the kind of America: The Land of

Excess Signage.  On national roadways there are sufficient legal criteria’s and enough effective

alternatives for roadside advertising to give reason for eradicate the billboard advertising

altogether.  Our great American highway’s open landscape requires to be protected from visual

pollution. 

During the filming of this documentary an attempt was made to find out the evidence of

situation where billboards cause distraction which is not reported in any police station or

hospital. Driver’s interviews were the only way to know about the actual experiences of drivers

where billboards resulted in getting them visually sidetracked. In this documentary research we

observed that drivers are not willingly told or report to the police that, he or she becomes

distracted or intentionally do that accident. The other side of research which always disturbs the

author is Pakistani’s police behavior; they are not seriously investigating that visual pollution

problem and do not bother to highlight that issue in front of media and Government forum.

University of Alberta Study “Negative Billboards Cause Distracted Driving” reported online by

Chris Purdy claimed in it that billboards actually become the reason of traffic accidents. Driver

spectacularly changes their speed after passing any kind of billboard they see on their way. The

researchers also declare that even the wide roadside advertisement’s phrasing can effected on

driver’s speed.

According to the above study in the world since 1960s the measuring technology has existed for

driver’s way of vision to practically high levels of accuracy. On-road driving studies Eye

tracking systems used in light reflection off the cornea to figure out the way of vision.

Lamination, location, size, and other relevant variables are the measuring tools for billboards

with respect to characterize these extensive visual motivations.

Topic of the Article

Billboard Advertisement: A Visual Pollution

As the title suggests an attempt has been made to explore and understand the core concept and

meaning of Visual Pollution and its relationship with Billboards and effects on human life

through the documentary.

Target Audience

The target audience of this paper is general audiences who drive, as its basic purpose is to

explore information about visual pollution. Although billboards and visual pollution or

distraction are associated with drivers of all ages and both genders, therefore the target audience

is all drivers.

Problem Statement

Advertising billboards is visual pollution, which is becoming a cause of road accidents.

Significance of the Paper

The need of this research is to see that whether billboard Ads actually have powerful influence

on the driver, passerby or on public. Advertising not only influence public but also influence

macro level strategies like decline of attitude multiplicity and short temperament issues. This

documentary analyzed that what is visual pollution and how it causes road accident. Visual

pollution not only distracts the drivers but it also becomes the loss of identity issue, eye fatigue

and the opinion diversity decreases issue. This research will open new avenues for future

researches in specifically in Pakistan, so that sufficient literature in this area can be produced.

Objectives

To explore the impact of billboard advertising on driver’s resulting in road accidents

To find out how we can overcome that pollution through our traffic policies

To make the society conscious of hazards of billboards.

To bring awareness about decreasing the number of accidents caused by visual distractions

CHAPTER # 2

LITERATURE REVIEW:

A&M University of Texas study "Sign Overload Causes Negative Mental and Physical Effects"

is the first to verify that this kind of sprawl adds to worker stress. Subsequent to being subjected

to upsetting circumstances, the subjects took mimicked drives along both of two sorts of streets:

cursed by boards, sprawl, and strip improvement, or pristine and country in character. Anxiety

levels declined rapidly for those driving country streets, yet stayed high for those presented to

strip advancements. Focused on driver’s experienced higher pulse, heart rate and breathe, and

expanded eye developments and facial muscle action.

Beijer, Smiley, and Eizenman assessed driver looks toward four changed sorts of roadside

Promoting signs on streets in the Toronto, Canada region. The four sorts of signs incorporated:

(a) Board signs with static ads; (b) roller bar signs with bulletin commercials put on vertical

rollers that could turn to demonstrate one of three notices in progression; (c) looking over

content signs with a minor dynamic part, which generally comprised of a little portion of lights

that shaped words looking over the screen or, at times, a bigger range fit for showing content

however not feature; and (d) signs with feature pictures that had a shading screen equipped for

showing both moving content and, all the more imperatively, moving pictures. The study utilized

an on street instrumented vehicle with a head-mounted eye-GPS beacon. They discovered no

huge contrasts in normal look length of time or the most extreme look span for the different sign

sorts; in any case, the quantity of looks was fundamentally lower for announcement signs than

for the roller bar, looking over content, and feature signs.

Chattington et al (2011) exhibited that dynamic signs indicating moving feature or other element

components may draw consideration far from the roadway. Moreover, the area of the promoting

sign out and about is a vital calculates drawing drivers' visual consideration. Ads with moving

feature set in the focal point of the roadway on an overhead gantry or in every one of the three

positions (right, left, and in the inside) at the same time are prone to draw looks from drivers.

Edquist et al. (2011) indicated that drivers look at the road less often when advertising billboards

are found along the road. Also in a simulator study, 

Federal Highway Administration (1980) study “Billboards are a Safety Hazard” found a positive

correlation between billboards and accident rates. Moreover, federal and state courts have long

cited traffic safety as a legitimate basis for billboard regulation.

Kettwich, Kartsen, Klinger, and Lemmer conducted a 2008 field study where drivers’ gaze

Behavior was measured with an eye tracking system. Sixteen participants drove an 11.5 mile

(18.5 km) route comprised of highways, arterial roads, main roads, and one-way streets in

Karlsruhe, Germany.

Nearby Taxes Department of CDGK has as of late been put on the test leading body of change,

in perspective of charges of debasement, in productivity and jumbling of open air environment

particularly with reference to quality and amount of the boards. The change crusade was

commenced with an amazing evacuation operation, in which all the unlawful and unpredictable

announcements were focused in first stage. In the second stage, the left over sheets will be

evacuated; while in the last stage the more hard to control private locales will be brought inside

of the ambit of admissible breaking points through a stringent administrative and evacuation

procedure. Next to each other with the evacuation crusade, the Local Taxes office has been

occupied in framework re designing by re characterizing the authorization issuance framework,

record keeping and information basing, correction of bye laws, justification of rates,

recognizable proof of potential streets or more every one of the a stricter regimen to minimize

debasement. The sum total of what this has been done in dynamic interview with the Advertising

Associations and corporate area.

LAHORE, March 6, Punjab Outdoor Advertisement and Signboards Policy-2013, the study

reported that among the 750 bulletins, 566 blocked perspective and 173 influenced way of life

and additionally the usefulness of vital chronicled structures. "Since 1,139 open air promotions

on immense boards are introduced on 80 vital city streets, of these 31 for each penny are inside

of the sweep of street intersections, 36 for every penny at intersections and 33 for each penny are

on the connections in the middle. Of the aggregate sheets, 32 for every penny are situated on

focal or side medians, 15 for each penny as an afterthought skirts, 9 for every penny along the

movement flags, 11 for every penny on the open spaces along roadsides and 33 for every penny

on the roadside housetops." It says that 180 sheets introduced by imperative boulevards represent

a negative effect on the working of road framework. Moreover, the wide assortment of sizes of

exposure sheets can be seen over the city because of absence of institutionalization and

regulation.

Visual Ethics

Jonathan and Jerome says in a book “Visual Research: A Concise Introduction to Thinking

Visually” p (6) that Visuals are more powerful and effective then words. There are some basic

visual ethics for visual materials like billboards, banners, etc…

1- Actuality of image:

2- Circulation of image

3- Informed consent

4- Relation of image

5- Representational authority

Karachi, February 7, The Supreme Court (SC) requested on Saturday the Karachi Metropolitan

Corporation (KMC) powers to submit points of interest of unlawful outside commercial blocks

set in different parts of the city and what activity was started against the violators

PolicyOn the proposals, the legislature took a shot at an arrangement titled "Punjab Outdoor

Advertisement and Signboards Policy-2013" that approves neighborhood governments to focus

the area, size, sort and thickness of outside notices and signboards as per the character of the

dominating area utilization of a zone.

As indicated by approach record, the establishment of notice and signboards in private structures

won't be allowed with the exception of on location signage for purposes of recognizable proof

and data on structures legitimately took into consideration a reason other than private. To the

extent the business zones are concerned, the approach guides the nearby powers to permit ad and

signboards on building and streets in similarity with the overall building standards and

regulations, statute, ordinances or warning issued to secure and protect nature, outline and

structural planning or right of path in the range. Be that as it may, on location and off-site sky

signs will be permitted on business structures. The establishment of signboards will be permitted

along financially announced streets of Lahore and different urban areas of the region. The

strategy denies stopping of versatile buoys bearing commercials along roadsides. The strategy

bans any commercial announcement/signage in the zones informed under the law, including

extraordinary premises as verifiably huge, ecologically delicate, open part institutional and other

confined regions. The approach likewise sets parameters identifying with introducing boards on

parkways, horticultural and modern zones, affectability, standing commercial and horizon,

divider/façade signs, housetop sky notice, dispersing, structure, wellbeing, deal, script and

execution component.

The Punjab government has flowed the arrangement among the offices concerned, guiding them

to consolidate it in their pertinent guidelines and regulations other than executing this in genuine

letter and soul

Raleigh, NC, April 19, 2011—On Wednesday, the Senate Transportation board of trustees will

consider SB 183 that would lessen nearby control of bulletins and permit electronic

announcements along parkways and roadsides. A statewide survey of 713 enlisted voters,

directed April 1-3, found that a greater part of North Carolina feel that bulletins bring down the

presence of groups and trust that position of board ought to be a neighborhood choice.

Somewhere around 1957 and 1977, no less than eight surveys discovered 70% or a greater

amount of respondents to be hostile to announcement. In the 1990s, individuals in Florida,

Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Texas, Michigan, and Missouri all concurred that boards are

litter on a stick. Truth is told; practically every solid survey that has been done uncovers one

reality: Americans don't care for bulletins.

Robin Patras, November 25, Influence of Billboards on Driving Behavior and Road Safety,

Driver diversion is assessed to be one of the main sources of engine vehicle mishaps,' the group

say. On the other hand, little is thought about the part of passionate diversion on driving,

regardless of proof that consideration is very one-sided toward feeling. In a driving reproduction

study completed on University of Alberta understudies, scientists Michelle Chan and Anthony

Singhal observed that drivers passing signs with negative words, for example, misuse, push, jail

or war, tended a short time later to ease off and float from their path. Drivers passing signs with

positive words like money, distinction, sex and win did the inverse, accelerating on the reenacted

street. There have been studies demonstrating that when you're absolutely invigorated, your

consideration grows, so you perform better when you're in an upbeat state of mind,' said Chan.

Roadside publicizing and data boards can occupy a driver from the driving errand. Especially

bulletins with moving parts, influence loaded roadside publicizing, boards put in the focal field

of vision and announcements taking after movement important data draw the driver's

consideration and can consequently imperil street security. As of late, the route in which drivers

respond to roadside publicizing has been concentrated on completely. Viewpoints, for example,

vehicle control (e.g. sidelong position, rate and progress separations) and also perception conduct

and response times have been analyzed. The studies frequently comprised of research center

studies by method for a PC or a driving test system. Every so often, examinations were

additionally done out and about

Smiley et al (2011) demonstrated drivers looked forward at the roadway around 76 percent of the

time in the vicinity of feature and element signs. A couple long looks of give or take 1.4 sec were

watched, and this bears further examination.

U.S division of transport report (2011) that Driver Visual Behavior in the Presence of

Commercial Electronic Variable Message Signs (CEVMS), the aftereffects of a study directed to

examine the impacts of CEVMS utilized for open air promoting on driver visual conduct in a

roadway driving environment. In this report they utilized an eye following framework to gauge

driver looks while driving on roadways in the vicinity of CEVMS, standard announcements, and

other roadside components. The report ought to be of enthusiasm to parkway architects,

movement engineers, and thruway wellbeing masters, the open air promoting industry,

ecological supporters, Federal strategy creators, and State and nearby controllers of outside

publicizing.

Young et al. (2009) found that advertising billboards may result in distracting drivers’ eyes from

the road more often, but not for a longer duration.

CHAPTER # 3

DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS:

During research we see that night time Billboards effect are different than day time. Mostly

people who drive at day complain that colors and words placement with writing style distract

them and they mishandle the vehicle but on the other side night time drivers are complaining that

electronic billboard LED light screen colors divert their vision and become a cause of accident.

Scenic America study in 2011 that electronic billboards use electricity 30 times more than a

home.

With this research paper I try to address the problem of road side billboards or roadway signs.

Michelle Chan and her analysts found that negative dialect on billboards decline driver's pace

and veer their path of street. On the other side those driver who sees positive dialects on

billboards tend to pick up their speed on road. She also said any sort of diversion is unsafe when

you're driving. But enthusiastic boosts no doubt to be a bigger danger in that matter.

The target audience of this paper is general audiences who drive, as its basic purpose is to

explore information about visual pollution. Although billboards and visual pollution or

distraction are associated with drivers of all ages and both genders, therefore the target audience

is all drivers.

CONCLUSION:

Although, there is no dearth of that concept of billboard but most of the material only point out

the problems, causes and effects of visual pollution and not the solution. Similarly, many writers,

traffic institutes and different environmental groups suggest many solutions but most of them

committed mistake by independently catering the problem without considering its overall effects.

To conclude problem and flaws, it’s important to independently discuss every problem, but for

real practical steps whole setup should be kept in mind.

Though billboard advertisement is an old concept yet their do not exist any universal laws

applicable to regulate the same or we live in caves. From start it is just like the wall painting or

the display of an art. But now in modern day billboard advertising advancement can map out its

origins from lithography, which was an invention of the late 1790s. But at that time it is not the

form of pollution. With the passage of time when population and pollution increase the needs

and business men advertise their product in competition that billboard tool which is used for

advertisement some time now become the visual pollution for the humans and natural disaster for

nature.

 

According to Smiley discuss in “influence of billboards on driving behaviour and road safety”

that driver looked forward on the roadway around 76 percent of the time in surroundings. In this

study writer says that in 1.4 sec interruption driver’s attention get diverted and a loss of life will

be happen.

U.S Federal Highway Administration also conclude in their study that there is a positive

correlation between billboards and accident rates. Moreover, federal and state courts have long

cited traffic safety as a legitimate basis for billboard regulation.

Billboards not only effect Rawalpindi and Islamabad it also effects every portion of the world

and increase the reasons of road accidents. With these big billboards colors brightness, lightness

and large fonts makes it difficult for drivers, passerbies and passengers to focus on anything else.

On the one side where this method of broad level advertisement is beneficial for companies

advertising their products it is also affecting public at large negatively termed as visual pollution.

In Pakistan, advertisement laws have not yet recognize this new terminology of visual pollution.

But Pakistani act recognize some safety measure before placing these billboards but it do not

cater major effects of visual pollution like identity issue, eye fatigue and the opinion diversity.

This research and documentary will open new avenues for future researches in specifically in

Pakistan, so that sufficient literature in this area can be produced. Roadside billboards spoil the

natural landscapes and urban beauty of Pakistan and become visually offensive and aggressive

surroundings.

In 2005, Privilege Insurance’s survey found that total 83% of UK motorists are affected when

they driving by roadside distractions like billboards but in 2004 Karachi, Pakistan survey found

that 30% increase of accidents and the danger to human lives is due to billboards.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Further research should be undertaken on visual pollution and its different dimensions.

People should recognize and analyze their visual distortion due to billboards.

People should try to cope with their visual pollution; if they cannot then they should

consult someone for help like different society improving and rehabilitation centers.

Major problem is that no one cares about this pollution that irritates eyes and many people even

are not aware about this. It is suggested that government should do some practical measure to

stop this. Because if these bill boards, posters are torn out due to heavy rain fall or storm then

they look ugly. If serious actions are not taken today then this process will keep on going and

artificial world would be created around us. Steps should be taken by government or authorities

to solve this issue. Some solutions are

1. Make a rule that on busiest roads billboards are not advertised, if any one break this rule then

stern action should be taken against them.

2. If bill boards are so much essential for commercial purposes than install them for a specified

time period.

3. Use websites, social media for advertising as it is cheaper as compared to newspaper or bill

boards.

4. If you have money use television channels as it does not affect environment and more chances it

give to get recognition soon.

5. Never use bill boards in front of beautiful locations or parks as it hides the natural beauty.

6. Pakistan is a developing country and we are facing shortage of electricity but big brands

especially property ads are advertised on roads in video forms. And, this is not only dangerous

for the traffic; it is also complete wastage of electricity. Our production of electricity is

expensive and less as well and it is more important to provide this basic facility to factories and

at home instead of wasting on visuals.

7. Government should take into notice the current problem of visual pollution and make laws for

the benefit of people like charge fine if any one install bill boards on busy roads and authorities

keep in check and take off the boards without telling the individuals.

Keep in mind cultural values while installing billboards and make sure unethical pictures are not

the part of it

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3. John Miller. Egotopia. University of Alabama Press, 1st March 1999- 188 pages

4. John S. Deckerab, Sarah J. Stannardac, Virginia P. Sisiopikud & Despina Stavrinosab, The Impact of Billboards on Driver

Visual Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review, 07 Jul 2014.

5. The Unconstitutional Nature of Product—Specific Bans and Taxes: The Case of Billboard Advertising, Volume 37, Issue 1,

1999.

6. Tania Dukica, Christer Ahlstroma, Christopher Pattena, Carmen Kettwichb & Katja Kirchera, Effects of Electronic

Billboards on Driver Distraction, 05 Oct 2012

7. The Islamabad Code by Abdul Ghafoor Dogar, p. 270, Advertisement

WEBLINKS:

1- http://www.scenic.org/billboards-a-sign-control/the-truth-about-billboards/98-billboards-endanger-health-and-safety

2- http://www.sja.gos.pk/Statutes/files/LOCAL%20TAXES.htm

3- ( http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=13166 )

4- http://nclcv.org/news/releases/billboard-poll_release/

5- http://www.dawn.com/news/790878/regulations-on-outdoor-advertising

6- http://www.scenic.org/billboards-a-sign-control/highway-beautification-act

7- http://www.researchgate.net/publication/

245561323_Observed_Driver_Glance_Behavior_at_Roadside_Advertising_Signs

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Work? by Kristen R. Price, Demand Media