The Coimbatore Consumer Cause has appealed to the district administration to remove advertisements displayed in the name of sponsors on all traffic signals in the district, failing to which the consumer body plans to initiate contempt of court proceedings.

In a letter to the district Collector, secretary of the consumer body K. Kathirmathiyon said advertisements have been erected across the district in the names of sponsors on traffic signals during the past three months, when the administration was engaged in election-related works.  Many sponsored advertisements have also been erected in the middle of roads.

Such advertisements clearly violate road safety norms, Indian Road Congress (IRC) guidelines, and court orders, as they distract the attention of drivers. The Madras High Court has already prohibited such advertisements on traffic signals in its verdict on a public interest litigation, he stated.

As per the directions of the High Court and IRC norms, advertisements should not be permitted on boards, placards, cloth banners or sheets hung across roads. No advertisement should be permitted at road junctions and within 100 metres of road junctions (50 meters in urban areas). Further, hoardings should be erected only parallel to the footpath or road and not across the road margin.

All these restrictions were blatantly violated in the case of sponsored advertisements displayed at traffic signals.

According to Mr. Kathirmathiyon, the Director General of Police had informed the High Court that no advertisements are permitted on traffic signals and appropriate action will be initiated on specific complaints regarding such violations. Advertisers, in several cases, have drawn electricity supply directly from the main lines, amounting to theft of energy, punishable under Section 135 of the Indian Electricity Act. In some instances, the Electricity Department has disconnected illegal connections, he stated.

Road safety infrastructure such as traffic signals, barricades and medians should be funded by the Government and should not be outsourced to private advertisers under the guise of sponsorship.

“The primary objective of such ‘sponsorships’ is commercial gain, which compromises public safety and violates applicable rules.  Actions initiated in the name of road safety must not, in any manner, undermine or endanger road safety,” said the letter.

He added that in its order on the writ petition S. Rajaseekaran v. Union of India, the Supreme Court has issued continuing mandamus directing strict implementation of road safety measures and has made it clear that financial or administrative constraints cannot justify non-compliance.