Billboard Advertisement: A Visual Pollution

Author: Nusrat Azeema

And
Shazia Hashmat
nusratazeemaraja@gmail.com

Abstract
The new upcoming pollution which is rapidly increasing the causes of accident and roads 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 drivers 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 drivers 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 Outdoors chief operating officer, said that we will prove that the ban on outdoor
advertising in So 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 womans breasts. It causes 500 accidents in a day and
distracted Moscows 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 drivers 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. Dont 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
Insurances 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 drivers 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 criterias and enough effective
alternatives for roadside advertising to give reason for eradicate the billboard advertising
altogether. Our great American highways 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. Drivers 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 Pakistanis 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 advertisements phrasing can effected on
drivers speed.
According to the above study in the world since 1960s the measuring technology has existed for
drivers 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 drivers 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 drivers 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

Policy
On 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/faade 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, 2011On 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, its 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 drivers 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 Insurances 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
REFERENCES:
BOOKS:
1.

Filiquarian Publishing, LLC., 2008 - Business & Economics - 52 pages

2.

Frederic P. Miller, Agnes F. Vandome, John McBrewster, Billboard, Alphascript Publishing, 2010 - 74 pages.

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 ProductSpecific 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

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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

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

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

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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_Si
gns

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43. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advertising-billboards-work-75826.html Do Advertising Billboards

Work? by Kristen R. Price, Demand Media