Guidelines for safe digital billboard installation
Keywords: Road Environment
ARSRPE
Submission Date: 2011
Abstract
Guidelines for safe digital billboard installation Paul Roberts and Hilke Harms (ARRB Group) While it is recognised that driver distraction is a contributor to crashes and that roadside advertising may contribute to this distraction, criteria for the management of roadside advertising devices varies significantly between states in Australia. In addition, a significant emerging safety issue is the use of digital display technology for outdoor advertising signs. This technology allows the display of attention-capturing messages that may cause drivers to be even less attentive to the driving task than is the case with traditional roadside advertising. Furthermore, some recent work in the United States, by the Veridian Group, reports that digital billboards are now capable of interacting with drivers, by displaying personalised messages, or by encouraging drivers to call a number displayed on the billboard. This adds a further dimension of potential distraction. This Austroads funded project is designed to facilitate the harmonization of agency criteria for the management of roadside advertising devices and promote improved and consistent best practice by road agencies. This project will document the practices of state road and planning agencies for the management of roadside advertising, the human factors issues relevant for underatnding their impact on drivers and produce best practice principles and guidelines for the placement of roadside advertising.