Are roadside Electronic Static Displays a threat to safety?

Are roadside Electronic Static Displays a threat to safety? Rena Friswell (a), Elia Vecellio (a,b), Raphael Grzebieta (a), Julie Hatfield (a), Lori Mooren (a), Murray Cleaver (c) Michael De Roos (c) (a) NSW Injury Risk Management Research Centre, University of New South Wales (b) Now at Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, University of New South Wales (c) NSW Roads and Traffic Authority With increasing research interest in the effect that in-vehicle technologies have on driver performance and safety, driver distraction has emerged as a major issue confronting the road safety community. Despite this interest, relatively little attention has been paid to the impact of roadside advertising as a source of distraction outside the vehicle. Advances in electronic technology have made it possible for advertisers to present very large, high quality, static or moving images to passing motorists and, not surprisingly, the advertising industry is keen to exploit the benefits of the new technology. Regulators, both in Australasia and around the world, have been looking to research evidence on the safety impact of these fixtures to inform policy, but have been confronted with diverse findings and sometimes contradictory conclusions. This paper reviews the research evidence on the effects of Electronic Static Displays (ESDs) on driver distraction, driving performance and safety and discusses the implications of the findings for research and policy.