Digital Billboards - Traffic Hazard

[happy1]

Hi,
Recently some large digital billboards have been erected above the Perth (Mitchell) Freeway, and I find it quite distracting to drive past these.
Clearly the billboards are made to attract the drivers attention, and distract from the task of driving. It's illegal to check text messages on your phone, but it is encouraged to view video or rapid changing advertising messages on these electronic billboards. Great achievement by the advertising lobby groups

Here are some articles discussing digital billboards as a hazard for drivers
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-m...b_5563176.html

http://www.screens.ru/en/2012/7.html

In Perth, one display is located near the South street overpass bridge (northbound). It covers the full width as 3 lanes of the freeway.
One display is located on the roof of a building where St.George's Tce crosses the freeway, direct sight by the cars. The worst thing is that there are merging lanes not far from these locations.
I understand there has been digital billboards for some time in other states. Unfortunately the crash data are often unclear, and I guess no one collects and researches the crash data for these locations properly. Also, the billboard advertising companies worldwide and in AU seem to spend money to develop and publish skewed 'research' papers, similar to the 'Smoking is harmless' campaigns by the tobacco industry some time ago.

I guess these new advertising billboards are here to stay, and probably more to come.
Cheers,

[Trump]

As bad as those billboards are, those road/traffic information signs bother me more. These are the bad boys I'm referring to:



I couldn't find a pic of the local ones, the "LA Story" one will do as they are near on identical.

They are littered across the Melbourne metro area, I am yet to see them display traffic and road condition information. All I ever see them show is bullpoo "road safety" propaganda and at night, a fair chunk of them are that bright, they are a road safety hazard themselves. One example was several weeks ago and was sending a message about txting whilst driving being distracting (which was in itself distracting). It was so bright, the vicinity around the sign was bathed in an eerie orange glow and I had to shield my eyes as I drove past it.

[Rallye Sport]

The one on St Georges terrace is a proper hazard, on top of a building on the right side of a left hand merge and ironically not far from the RAC headquarters.
To make it worse for the first month they had the Bonds girls up there dancing in their knickers. Only positive to come out of that is you'd have something nice to look at whilst waiting for the tow truck...

[TheInterceptor]

Don't worry, they will cancel out the unsafeness by putting cameras nearby to make it safe again.

But I agree however. Maybe they should plaster these billboards with instructions on how to merge. And at highway speed at that. Hopeless city for driving.

[EBSXR6]

Originally Posted by Rallye Sport

To make it worse for the first month they had the Bonds girls up there dancing in their knickers. Only positive to come out of that is you'd have something nice to look at whilst waiting for the tow truck...

If the boards get hacked it might get to be interesting viewing.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by happy1

Hi,
Recently some large digital billboards have been erected above the Perth (Mitchell) Freeway, and I find it quite distracting to drive past these.
Clearly the billboards are made to attract the drivers attention, and distract from the task of driving. It's illegal to check text messages on your phone, but it is encouraged to view video or rapid changing advertising messages on these electronic billboards. Great achievement by the advertising lobby groups

Here are some articles discussing digital billboards as a hazard for drivers
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-m...b_5563176.html

http://www.screens.ru/en/2012/7.html

In Perth, one display is located near the South street overpass bridge (northbound). It covers the full width as 3 lanes of the freeway.
One display is located on the roof of a building where St.George's Tce crosses the freeway, direct sight by the cars. The worst thing is that there are merging lanes not far from these locations.
I understand there has been digital billboards for some time in other states. Unfortunately the crash data are often unclear, and I guess no one collects and researches the crash data for these locations properly. Also, the billboard advertising companies worldwide and in AU seem to spend money to develop and publish skewed 'research' papers, similar to the 'Smoking is harmless' campaigns by the tobacco industry some time ago.

I guess these new advertising billboards are here to stay, and probably more to come.
Cheers,

If the digital bill boards distract you then hand your license back in, I have no problems glancing at them while keeping my concentration on road conditions.

Next you will be saying your instrument cluster distracts you!

[Junkyard-Dog]

You could just ignore them.

I realise that advertising rules our lives but that is still an option.

[Streets]

Yes I have seen these billboards. It's not just that they are moving pictures, the LEDs are also bright as **** at night time. I've had to put my bloody sun visor down at night time to shield me from the glare that was ruining my night vision. It's ridiculous.

As it says in the article, distraction is a huge problem on the roads, with people talking, ****-assing with the radio, ******* around on their phones etc., yet these gigantic bright flashing signs go up next to main roads with the intention of deliberately distracting drivers and the companies are allowed to make a profit from it.

[Trump]

Originally Posted by Streets

Yes I have seen these billboards. It's not just that they are moving pictures, the LEDs are also bright as **** at night time. I've had to put my bloody sun visor down at night time to shield me from the glare that was ruining my night vision. It's ridiculous.

As it says in the article, distraction is a huge problem on the roads, with people talking, ****-assing with the radio, ******* around on their phones etc., yet these gigantic bright flashing signs go up next to main roads with the intention of deliberately distracting drivers and the companies are allowed to make a profit from it.

Double standards are cool doncha know...

[baboon]

In the day they are nice and readable, in the night its like looking into oncoming high beam.

They really need a light sensor on these signs and at night dull the brightness down by 10 000 000 lumens...

[baboon]

For example:

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by trublu

If the digital bill boards distract you then hand your license back in, I have no problems glancing at them while keeping my concentration on road conditions.

Next you will be saying your instrument cluster distracts you!

That means you are assuming the average driver is as responsible as you.

I have personally never had any issues with the billboards distracting me. But some people have zero attention span and would be easily distracted by a sign.

[commodorenutt]

I don't even look at them.

There's a couple on my commute located on bridges over a 4-lane section of freeway. I'm too busy positioning myself and all the other traffic & predicting which fool is going to drift lanes next because of the text/radio/AC/makeup/hair/coffee reasons.

But at night time, I have to agree, they are quite bright - a bit like the odd electronic speed sign that hasn't dimmed from the daytime setting.

But that brightness level is the only part of the 'hazard' I agree with. I still don't find it distracting, only annoying if you approach it when it flashes from a darker scene to a bright white background of the next ad.

They need to implement some sort of standards to either auto-dim them, or use a "night mode" on ads played after dark, mandating dark or black backgrounds.

[Sabantien]

Originally Posted by trublu

Next you will be saying your instrument cluster distracts you!

I have heard similar things before.

[2011G6E]

There's a huge one now as you enter Rockhampton, down towards Central Park (the rainbow fountain place).
It's massive, and sticks right out above the road. It was lit up yesterday with "Check your speed".

Problem is, it's located right where a curve to the right in the road is, followed by a sharpish left as the road continues on...

Very stupid spot...not where you want to be distracting people when traffic is heavy...

[Sar4890]

Some of the servos in south oz have retina burning price boards as well.

[Sorted]

Peter Stevens has one on Maroondah Highway, Ringwood - when it has the white back ground screen it is def a distraction BUT what is more is night road works and their flood lights pointed at you when driving past

[Dauphin]

I'm sure we'll all get used to it after an initial period.

[Yellow_Festiva]

I think a greater distraction / hazard is radio adds that have car horns and police / ambulance sirens...

Shouldn't be allowed. First few times you hear them you slow down and look around thinking it's coming from outside the car.