ADVERT HAZARDS

by Jenifer

9/5/13

      Ping! A bell chimed in my head. I read the banner hung vertically on the lamp post planted on the grassy plot of the road divider. It said in Bahasa Malaysia, “Taksiran Tahunan & Cukai Pintu Boleh dibayar di kaunter H&L sekarang”. There were other details apart from the fact that the banner was sponsored by the H&L supermarket. There were probably about thirty to forty such banners hung along the two mile stretch of Penrissen Road. Like all motorists, I also glanced across the banners and read the words as fast as I could. At times, my eyes were not focused to the front. Every seasoned driver boasts that they are capable of maneuvering their car off focus between three to five seconds. However, mishap does not discriminate seasoned or juvenile drivers. I almost forgot to brake when the car in front stopped suddenly. Screech! I slammed on emergency brakes.

      The ideology of capitalism has certainly grabbed our society at the expense of road safety. Gone were the days when advertisements were collages in newspapers or simple flyers and brochures. Banners were normally hung in front of shops or community halls. These days, advertisements attract attention louder than the booming thunder, and brighter than flowers on a summer’s day.

    When I was younger, I loved cycling to school, feasting my eyes on the beautiful serene surrounding. Though it was just simple scenery, the image is still vivid in my mind. The big white-washed government quarters and barracks were lining the small road intermittently. There were many big fruit trees and flowering shrubs in their gardens. In the 70s, the popular trees were the red seed saga and casuarinas, whilst the bougainvilleas, alamandas and jasmine were favourite flowering plants. Now, I travel to school in my own car and it takes me ten minutes, as I zoomed without taking note of the trees or the colours of the terrace houses along my route. There are no more rustic landscape worth feasting my eyes opon. Probably, the outstanding landmarks are the huge stretch of Chinese and Christian graveyards on both sides of the road some two kilometres from the school gate. You can imagine what sights and congestions I encounter in the months of March, August and October ( Ching Ming and All Souls’ Day).

       Advertisement is useful for business and merchants. Whilst billboards and banners are colourful and creative, they add rubbish to the environment and clutter our space. To a certain extent, they congest our scope of vision.

        For example, the billboard advertisement with a beautiful woman or the latest MPV model, distract motorists at the traffic lights intersection! Hence, advertisements, banners and billboards placed near road sides and highways are road hazards. Our roads and highways should be decorated with plants and flowers to revive a natural balance in the Earth’s landscape.