Digitized Highway Signs Amplify Risk of Accidents in California
The New York Times has been in the forefront of raising public awareness about the dangers of driving while distracted. It runs a regular series of reports called Driven to Distraction on the numerous distractions that motorists face as they drive on American highways. The most recent report in the series deals with the distractions that motorists face in the form of brightly illuminated, neon, digitized highway billboard signs.
Billboards have always been a source of distraction for motorists on a highway. In the past, studies around the world have shown that certain billboards tend to have a higher risk of crashes. For instance, a billboard featuring a scantily clad model is more likely to have male motorists lose focus, and crash. However, those distractions tempting as they are, may pale in the face of new distractions from brightly lit, neon colored highway billboards that are cropping up increasingly on our highways. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that out of the approximately 450,000 billboards in the US, only about 2,000 are currently digitized. But the trend to have these digitized billboards at heavy traffic intersections is growing stronger by the day, as advertisers find the prospect of grabbing eyeballs at heavy traffic areas too tempting to pass up.
By any account, the digitized billboard industry is in an expanding one. While a traditional billboard can cost anywhere from $5,000-$50,000, a digitized billboard can cost between $250,000 and $300,000. The price for a digitized billboard is much lower than it used to be just a few years back. As the technology improves, and these billboards become more common, California injury lawyers find it highly likely that these prices could drop further. That means more and more billboards on US highways, distracting motorists who are already talking on their cell phones or text messaging while driving.
There haven’t been extensive studies done into how much these billboards can increase the risk of an accident. In 2007, a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that digitized billboards did not substantially increase the risk of accidents compared to traditional billboards. However, the findings of that study are suspect because the study was financed by the billboard industry, not the most impartial source.
However, federal transportation officials are beginning to take the matter seriously. The Federal Highway Administration is presently conducting a study into the effects of digitized billboards. The study includes installing eye tracking cameras in the cars of motorists, and monitoring for how long these drivers look at these billboards while driving. Last year, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute published a study which stressed the need for further investigations into the results of digitized billboard distractions on drivers. This spring, researchers will also have the opportunity to travel around the world to see how other cities have handled the distractions arising from digitized billboards.
As new technologies crop up and compete for a motorist’s attention on the road, it’s important that federal, state and local agencies also expand their policies to meet these new challenges.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of auto accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.
