Remove advertisements on vehicles: court

Says earning additional income should not be at the cost of public safety

A KURTC bus with an advertisement for a film.

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday ordered the Transport Commissioner not to permit vehicles, including the ones owned and operated by Kerala State Road Transport Corporation and the Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation, which carried advertisements, figures, writings, etc., on their bodies to ply on State roads.

Justice Anil K. Narendran, quashing the suspension of the driving licence of a person from Thrissur, observed that these were likely to distract the attention of other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Earning additional income for the KSRTC or KURTC through such advertisements should not be at the cost of public safety.

Safety glass

KSRTC counsel had submitted that exhibition of advertisement was not permitted on the safety glass of windows and on the front side of the vehicle.

Similarly, it was not allowed to affect the monogram of the KURTC or any information provided by the KURTC or any statutory writing or requirement in any manner.

The court also directed the Transport Commissioner to take necessary steps to ensure that no motor vehicle, including government vehicles, was allowed in any public place after tampering with the percentage of visual transmission of light of the safety glass of the windscreen, rear window and side windows, either by pasting any material upon the safety glass or by fixing sliding ‘cloth curtains’, etc.

The court ordered that the safety glass of the windscreen and rear window of every motor vehicle was always maintained in such a condition that the visual transmission of light was not less than 70% and that of the safety glass used for side windows is not less than 50%, as per the mandate of sub-rule (2) of Rule 100 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules.

Stick to rules

The court also ordered that no motor vehicle shall be allowed to be used in any public place without maintaining the signalling devices, direction indicators, reflectors, reflective tapes, lamps, parking lights, as under Rules 102 to 111 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, in good working condition.

The court also directed that no motor vehicle that carried an object in front of such lighting devices, reflectors, etc., or ‘tinting’ such lighting devices (i.e., headlights, tail lights, etc.) or reflectors by fixing vinyl tint film sticker be permitted to ply.

Besides, the court ordered against permitting vehicles fitted with LED bar lights, LED flexible strip lights, after-market (Non-OEM) halogen driving lamps, etc., to use public roads.