I recently read in a Dallas Morning News article that drivers have a new and dangerous distraction besides cell phones and texting. It’s digital roadside billboards. Such high-tech billboards are as eye-appealing as one might be in Times Square. The images are constantly changing in a matter of so many seconds. In our rushed society, drivers would be drawn to images that large while trying to steer through traffic and that could cause accidents. The billboard industry, of course, says this isn’t the case. But critics seem to think that these flashing billboards will be a distraction to drivers.
So far, there has been an effort to block construction of these huge billboards, with the argument being that you can turn off your phone, but not something this large. So far, this is becoming an issue in Michigan, but distracting billboards are going up all over the country. Most likely, we’ll start seeing some in the Dallas-Fort Worth area soon. The Federal Highway Administration, the Associated Press reports, has been conducting a study which will be available this summer. It will track volunteer drivers who look at the billboards - and come up with some results.
Los Angeles Businessman Kayvan Setareh is the first person to face criminal charges about these ads on billboards.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Anything of interest to community college students; please blog with care and common sense. Pretend your teachers are reading this - they probably are!
RSS 2.0
