Are digital billboards distracting?

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Digital billboards are beginning to pop up around South Florida. There's one in Boca Raton, one in Lake Worth and one in Stuart.

"Coming down the highway you notice it," said motorist Loren Clark. "It's the brightest thing standing out. You know it's actually brighter than the lights at the gas station so it makes it real noticeable."

But is being noticeable a problem?

"Anything that takes your eyes off the road, the forward road, for an extended period of time is going to be an increased distraction, said Donna Bryan, of the Safety Council of Palm Beach County.
 
Across the country some cities are beginning to hit the brakes on these high-tech headliners. Fifteen cities have banned them all together and 6 have put a moratorium on their construction.

"A billboard by nature is distracting because that's it's job, and if it's not distracting, it's not doing it's job," said Max Ashburn, of Scenic America.

Scenic America believes the bold lights and in the in-your-face approach of digital billboards are what make them distracting.

But a study funded by the Foundation for Outdoor Advertising Research and Education has a different opinion.

The 2007 study looked at digital billboards around the city of Cleveland and found that there was "conclusive evidence that traffic accidents are no more likely to happen in the presence of digital billboards." 

"Digital billboards are safe," said Jeff Golimowski, of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. "The scientists say that digital billboards are 'safety neutral' meaning they are not a distraction."

Public opinion is equally split.

"Oh yeah it's great. It tells you everything that's going on in Stuart," said one motorist.

"Don't like it. Too big. Too distracting. I just don't like it. I don't think it's a good idea," said another driver.

The Federal Highway Administration hopes to give a more definitive answer to these safety concerns sometime this summer. It is currently conducting a study using eye-trackers to see just how long drivers' eyes look at these billboards.