Hands on wheel, eyes on the TV soap
New Delhi, July 7: FOR some it’s the love of gadgetry, for others a fashion statement and for yet others entertainment during a long drive. Whatever be the reasons, TVs and LCD monitors in cars are definitely catching up in Delhi. Estimates about the number of TVs in cars vary from 2,000 to 15,000 but most car accessory dealers agree that up to two per cent of their customers catch up with movies while driving. ‘‘These mini TVs have found buyers in the last eight months,’’ says Rajesh Verma of Musicar. Delhiites want to catch up with a trend, he says. Gagan Khanna, who has a TV and VCD player in his Hyundai Accent, says: ‘‘All my friends had a TV in their car. Besides, I generally go for long drives and it is very relaxing to catch up with some TV,’’ he says. 28-year-old Ritesh Sharma put a TV on his dashboard to keep abreast with the football world cup and cricket scores. ‘‘My mother and wife no longer miss their favourite soap operas because of traffic jams. I pay a monthly fee to my cable operator and have access to everything from Star, BBC to Sony,’’ he says. The monitors, which range from Rs 8,000 to 66,000, can be installed in the dashboard, roof or head rest. Sets for dashboard are more popular because the driver too can enjoy. But they are the most dangerous too. ‘‘We tell customers that they should fix the TV at an angle where the driver cannot see the screen, because it can be very distracting,’’ says Gulab of Cool Centre in Lajpat Nagar. But few heed advice. Versa, Qualis and Safari, have company-fitted TVs but they are fixed at an angle where the driver cannot see. Dealers do not deny that car TVs could be banned. That, however, is a long way off because Traffic Police are unaware of the trend. ‘‘I am not aware of such a trend, but will definitely look into the matter. Though TVs are illegal in commercial vehicle, I am not aware of any such law regarding private vehicles,’’ says Maxwell Pereira, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
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