Safety first, always

The recent tragedy involving the collapse of an advertising billboard in Mumbai attracted widespread attention. This was followed by a couple of events in nearby Pune, though, thankfully, with less serious outcomes. The Mumbai tragedy, which resulted in the loss of many lives, saw urban local bodies in many cities swing into action to verify the safety of all outdoor billboard structures while also removing illegal or unlicensed ones. This cleanup was overdue. The structural strength and safety of the large steel frames are not the only issues.

The very presence of billboards along roads has generated much debate among stakeholders. Road safety activists state that these are a distraction for motorists and other road users and often the cause of accidents. In a 1997 order, the Supreme Court, while holding that the safety of road users is paramount, said that hazardous hoardings, which are disturbances to safe traffic movement, are those that are visible to traffic on the road. It accordingly directed the removal of these hoardings. The Delhi High Court, in its order dated March 26, 2007, directed that “hoarding and/or advertising boards near and facing the roads are traffic hazards.” These later led to the formulation of guidelines for outdoor hoardings and billboards in Delhi. Others have raised the issue of aesthetics while asking for greater regulation on the installation of hoardings.

On the other hand, urban local bodies derive significant income in the form of fees and charges from this activity. These fees help shore up the revenues of our local bodies. There is therefore a need to craft policies and regulations with respect to this activity that balances the needs of all stakeholders: road users for safety, ULBs for revenues, agencies and their employees for their livelihoods, citizens for city aesthetics, and so on. The needs of various stakeholders are often conflicting. For example, busy traffic intersections offer the best possibilities for brand recall, attracting attention, and registering ‘hits’. Yet these are the very locations where the driver or road user is required to remain alert and pay attention on the road where there are multiple traffic streams in different directions. Billboards at such locations usually have attractive graphics and lighting. These are the very features that divert the driver’s attention and compromise safety. Unlicensed or illegal hoarding presents challenges that need to be dealt with firmly.

Advertising billboards and hoardings are not the only source of danger in our cities. Fires, mishaps during floods and earthquakes, road accidents, and building collapses are among other common sources of fatalities and extreme distress; and, many are avoidable. Recent instances of fires in a hospital in the national capital and in a gaming centre in Rajkot, which led to the loss of many innocent lives, including newborns, are being labelled as ‘man-made’ disasters. Complete disregard for regulations and the absence of or non-functional firefighting equipment are ubiquitous in such tragedies.

While authorities, including local governments, need to tighten regulations and enforcement, the common man must play his role by strictly conforming to norms. We, as a nation, must embrace the principles and practice of ‘safety first’ in all that we do.