BEST asks advertising agency to ensure reflective tapes on its buses are visible

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport BEST has directed the advertising agency to take immediate steps to ensure that reflective tapes on its passenger buses are visible and not concealed under wraparound advertisements to avoid any violation of rulesThe direction came in the wake of the Regional Transport Offices RTOs on Tuesday taking action against the BEST buses for violating rules about reflective tapesAccording to RTO officials a fine was imposed on more than 100 buses for the violation of the ruleA senior BEST official said the department concerned of the public transport body asked the advertising agency to take immediate steps to make the reflective tapes that are hidden under the advertisements clearly visibleWhatever fine the RTO offices have imposed on the undertaking for violating the rule about reflective tapes will be recovered from the advertising agency the official saidAccording to BEST private agency Signpost India Private Limited had been given the contract from June 11 2022 to June 10 2027 for advertising on 3115 buses at a cost of Rs 112 croreAt present most of the BEST buses display advertisements of various products and schemes including those related to various schemes of the Maharashtra government due to which the reflective tapes on these vehicles are getting concealedRoad safety experts and retired RTO officials have expressed fear that the concealed reflective tapes could pose a risk of accidents and hence they had asked the authorities to take action against the violation of the rule that attracts a fine of Rs 1000 if the offence is committed for the first timeReflective tapes improve visibility ensuring safety for road users As per the rules reflective tapes of bright red white and yellow colours are installed on the rear front and the sides of the buses When light from the headlights of other vehicles falls on these tapes they glitter making the vehicle visible from a distance in darkness even if the lights of these vehicles are offThe civic transport body has given the contract of advertising on BEST buses and at bus stops to the private agencyAlso Read Mumbai Crackdown against more than 100 BEST buses for concealing reflective tapes under advertisementsLast week additional transport commissioner J B Patil who also holds additional charge of joint transport commissioner of Maharashtra Motor VehiclesDepartment had directed all RTO offices in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to take action against BEST buses for violating road safety norms by putting up advertisements that concealed reflective tapesAs per Rules 104 and 104D of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 it is mandatory for commercial vehicles to install reflective tapes in red white and yellow for safety reasons as it improves visibility and prevents accidents officials saidBEST is a municipal transport body of Mumbai With its fleet of around 3400 buses it provides service in Mumbai and its neighbouring cities More than 30 lakh commuters travel on the buses of this undertaking on a daily basisThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever