Article

Opinion: Ease up on digital billboards

Roadside digital media isn't as harmful as people might believe.  

November 5, 2008

This opinion is in response toResidents angered over bright L.A. digital billboards, posted on Digital Signage Today from the New York Times on Nov. 6, 2008.

Digital billboards have gotten a bad rap in the past few years. People from all over the country are fighting with their state governments over the installation of digital billboards in place of traditional static billboards, but since only a small percentage of the nation's 450,000 billboards are digital, many have not even seen this new technology in person. I am here to say, give digital a chance.

There is one thing you have to realize about Clear Channel, Lamar, CBS Outdoor and other digital billboard providers: They aren't trying to make your town Las Vegas or Times Square.

Dynamic, flashy billboards will stay in Times Square.

Also, the FHA says that those images can only change every four to ten seconds, so for someone traveling at 65 mph, there is a good chance they will not even see the billboard change at all while passing it.

Regardless, studies from Virginia Tech University and Tantala Associates have shown that digital billboards do little to change driving habits and that "digital billboards have no statistically significant relationship with the occurrence of accidents."

Read alsoStudy: Digital billboards don't cause accidents

That being said, there is no FHA regulation concerning the brightness of billboards, only a statement issued that says signs should be "not unreasonably bright for the safety of the motoring public." But many of the complaints come from nearby residents who say they are too bright for their proximity to residential neighborhoods. As digital billboards begin to proliferate, I think that nighttime brightness is an issue and standards should be in place to lower the lumens at night.

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Good for advertisers and the public

It's true that digital billboards can mean good things for advertisers. Tracy Libertino, an analyst with Accuvia Consulting, said 94 percent of those who saw a digital billboard recalled the product being advertised, versus 43 percent for static billboards. But maybe you don't advertise, so why do you care?

Digital billboards have ability to provide immediate information, which means they can be (and have been) used for public safety purposes. On Feb. 12, 2007, a 14-year-old Minnesota girl went missing. Several digital billboards in the area immediately ran a multimedia Amber Alert and the girl was found the next day.

Read alsoClear Channel adds Amber Alerts to digital billboards  

In Huntsville, Ala. last year, police started a manhunt for a registered sex offender. Lamar Advertising Co. and the local Crimestoppers organization ran suspect sketches on several digital billboards in the region and within several hours the suspect was captured.

Digital billboards can also serve as real-time traffic updaters, an upgrade from the huge orange-lighted screens that hover over highways presently. With a bigger screen, digital billboards will allow more information to be provided to drivers than was possible on the previous boards.

The claims that digital billboards cause traffic safety problems are unsupported. Also, I think that residents should be considered regarding the brightness of digital billboards, but let's not forget that standard billboards are illuminated at night with high-bright halogen lights. Digital or not, that issue is not going away.