Current Projects Distracting LED Billboards Pose a Safety Hazard to Virginia’s Drivers Resembling gigantic plasma-screen televisions along our roadsides, digital/LED (light-emitting diode) billboards are extremely bright – actually brighter than the sun during the day and stunningly bright at night. Because these billboards are so bright, they capture the driver’s attention from much farther away than regular signs. Equally dangerous, the digital billboard’s changing messages hold and divert the driver’s attention from the road as he drives closer. A recent safety study by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) on distractions occurring inside the car found that driver distractions of two or more seconds are unsafe. Because of federal and national concerns about the safety of certain digital technology, a moratorium on digital/LED billboards should be enacted until two independent safety studies are concluded. Reasons to Support a Ban: The Commonwealth and its localities face serious issues of motorist safety and waste of taxpayer dollars, if digital/LED billboards continue to be erected in the absence of credible safety studies. Motorist Safety -- At Risk: The billboard industry touts two safety studies that it commissioned and paid for as proof that the technology is safe. Others disagree. In fact, the publication in June 2007 of the two studies triggered much criticism by national safety officials, as follows: The Maryland State Highway Administration commissioned an objective analysis of the billboard industry studies by Jerry Wachtel, a nationally-known, highly regarded traffic safety expert. His report is extremely critical of both the conclusions and methodology of the studies, and effectively debunks them. The American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials commissioned an independent review of the two billboard industry studies. AASHTO’s peer review concluded that both studies were grossly flawed due to faulty scientific methods and incorrect data analysis. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences conducted a peer review of both studies, following a request by the authors that the studies to be  presented and published at TRB’s recent Annual Meeting in January. After peer review, TRB rejected the legitimacy of both studies. In light of this criticism, two national agencies have initiated independent safety studies, as follows: The Federal Highway Administration is conducting an independent safety study of changeable message signs. Due in late 2009, the study is entitled “The Effects of Changeable Electronic Variable Message Signs (CEVMS) on Driver Attention and Distraction: An Update.” The Transportation Research Board kicked off a safety study at its Annual Meeting in January in Washington, DC. Its study is entitled “The Safety Impacts of Emerging Digital Display Technology for Outdoor Advertising.” Results are due in late 2008. Cost to Taxpayers: A moratorium could potentially save Virginia taxpayers millions of dollars. Owners of nonconforming billboards must be paid cash compensation when signs are removed for a road project. Digital billboards cost exponentially more than regular billboards. In fact: The cost to erect a digital/LED billboard is $250,000 ($500,000 for a double-sided board). The Commonwealth will bear that huge increase if the sign must be removed. In addition to structure cost, the billboard industry demands compensation for loss of revenue when a billboard is removed. A typical electronic/LED billboard changes every six seconds, for a total of 14,400 ads per day, translating into potentially millions of dollars of ad revenue. For more information, please visit Scenic America’s website.

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