Motorists complain about bling billboards on Western, Eastern Express Highways

Following the issue of the glaring vertical digital banners on the median of the road midday visited a few other locations on the Western Express Highway WEH and Eastern Express Highway EEH Motorists using both highways regularly alleged that these digital advertisements distracted their attention while driving and riding They say traffic police need to intervene to control these dangerous distractorsEastern Express HighwayOn Tuesday when midday visited the stretch between Mulund and Sion multiple digital signboards were found on the median of the highway The journey started from the Mulund toll plaza on the EEH and ended at Sion This reporter found three sets of digital signboardsmdashthree facing northbound traffic heading toward Thane and three facing southbound traffic moving from Thane to SionDigital banners on the median opposite NESCO Centre in Goregaon East PicAnurag AhireTagore Nagar VikhroliFurther in the Tagore Nagar area one digital signboard each was facing the northbound and southbound stretches was observed on the median Auto driver Satish Mane said ldquoThese signboards come out of nowhere I have been driving an auto on this stretch to Thane and back for almost 10 years These boards often distract drivers increasing the risk of accidentsrdquoGodrej Memorial HospitalContinuing the journey two sets of digital signboards each facing northbound and southbound vehicles were spotted near the Godrej Memorial Hospital on the EEH median The two sets were placed approximately 500 metres apartReacting to a midday report titled lsquoWEH drivers slam bright digital hoardings on routersquo a user named Deepak posted on X ldquoWhy only Western Express Highway Even the Eastern Express Highway has such hoardings sicrdquo Adding to this another X user Abhishek Bhalerao replied ldquoIt is horrible to drive and focus without getting distracted by these hoardingsrdquoAnother local requesting anonymity said ldquoI travel frequently on both the highways and often find these digital hoardings disturbing On highways even the smallest distraction can be fatal The boards on the side of the highway are still tolerable but those on the median are like a death trap The intensity of light changes depending on the display and this could easily cause a fatal accident if the driver isnrsquot cautiousrdquoWestern Express HighwayOn Tuesday when midday visited the WEH small vertical digital hoardings were noticed on the median at various locations including the KalinaVakola flyover These bright advertisements allegedly distracted motoristsldquoWhile driving on the KalinaVakola flyover and other stretches of WEH I have noticed these bright digital ads on the median Changing advertisements on these hoardings divert attention and could cause accidentsrdquo said one motorist ldquoI think these hoardings should be removed and traffic police must intervenerdquo he addedNear the domestic airport flyover another set of BMCinstalled digital advertisements on the WEH median was observed reportedly distracting drivers and causing light pollution At the Jogeshwari flyover more digital hoardings were spotted on the WEH median particularly opposite the Mahanand Dairy and Aarey Milk Colony flyoverMotorists weigh inMahesh Dhumale an HR professional said ldquoThe number of digital hoardings is rising because there are no stringent guidelines Rules on brightness and lumens are needed I stay cautious when driving but these hoardings are a problem across Mumbai For instance the Mahim Causeway junction has a large digital hoarding that is extremely bright and visually distractingrdquoGaurav Singh a Malad resident who commutes daily between Bandra and Malad on his motorcycle said ldquoLarge hoardings were already a problem and now the new ones on the median have made it worse Some ads are so bright they can blind you in the evening Even a momentary lapse in judgment on the highway can be fatal These hoardings are an eyesore especially after a long dayrdquo