Issues

ELECTRONIC BILLBOARD EXPLOSION

Undoubtedly you have noticed the disturbing increase in electronic or changeable message billboards. These signs change messages or faces every few seconds. Under recent billboard legislation enacted in Michigan, electronic messages can change no less than once every 6 seconds. However, the mere presence of these signs on our streets and highways raise issues even more pronounced than ordinary billboards. Most importantly, electronic billboards pose serious safety concerns.

A recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study revealed that taking one’s eyes off the road for more than two seconds “significantly increased individual near-crash/crash risk.” Changeable message billboards are worse from a driver distraction standpoint than ordinary billboards because drivers tend to keep looking at them after they have comprehended the initial message as they wait to see what the next message might be. As these signs have started to proliferate, communities around the country have begun trying to regulate them or ban them altogether.

Scenic Michigan will be following this issue as it develops and will recommend policies that minimize this disturbing trend.

Electronic Billboards Begin to Add Their Bright Blight to the American Landscape