RANT: Roadside Video Billboards!

[benburch]

If you are in a major urban area you know these; Roadside Video Billboards.

They go way beyond the animated three-color light arrays of the recent past, and are full-color, sunlight-viewable, full-motion video screens.

And I think they are dangers to the general public.

Look, people have enough distractions when driving; Children, Pets, smoking, cellphones, arguments with passengers... But this is a distraction that takes their eyes totally off the road if it is to work as intended. Anybody designing video for such a billboard WANTS it to command your attention.

In Chicago, McDonalds has one of these devices along the Northwest Tollway, right at a curve where the traffic often slows suddenly down, and where there are often accidents. My question is this; "McDonalds; How many of your customers is it OK to kill to get your message out?"

And it simply has to be killing people. No such distraction could possibly have anything but a detrimental effect on safety.

Comments welcome!

[SeattleGirl]

1. There's one next to Interstate 5 that I have to pass on occasion

I hate them too. I have to work hard not to look at them, not because I have no attention span, but because of the movement on the billboard. The eyes are automatically drawn to it (and that't the point, right?). And the area it's in is notorious for sudden slow-downs. I wish they'd get rid of that stupid thing.

[Redstone]

2. Thank you for pointing this out. Distractive advertising is indeed

dangerous. People pay little enough attention to driving as it is.

Redstone

[IChing]

3. Drive on the interstate sometime at night through Vegas

Not only distracting but imagine showing Vegas Show girls at the same time on a billboard the size of a large building.

Now that is distracting and dangerous.

[silverweb]

4. Absolutely agreed!

They're extremely dangerous and should be banned.

[johnaries]

5. I never see them. I'm too busy

talking on my cell phone, eating my McGriddle, and shaving with my cordless electric razor.

I'm kidding, but I've seen it before.

[benburch]

6. LOL!

I've seen people having sex while driving... No! Really!

[ClassWarrior]

7. Someone should do a static billboard that reads...

Who Needs Motion?

(illustration of a skull and crossbones)

Get The Message: Video Billboards Kill.

NGU.

[Hand]

8. Sheesh...

What an absolutely idiotic idea. I thought these only existed in "Blade Runner" (yeah, I'm a bit of a rube). :dunce:

[benburch]

9. Science Fiction once again anticipates reality. nt