More digital signs coming to Columbus, Akron

The Digital Signage Journal (yes, of course such a thing exists) is reporting that Clear Channel Outdoor is putting up 6 of the things in Columbus and 6 in Akron, in addition to two other cities. There’s already at least one digital sign in Columbus, on Rome-Hilliard Road just north of 70.

Clear Channel Outdoor’s digital networks plans to display around 1,250 ads a day, with a rotation every eight seconds. Memphis will carry five 14 by 48 foot digital billboards, while Akron will have six of the same size. And Wichita and Columbus will put up six each of the 12 by 24 foot poster-sized digital displays….

[Paul Meyer, global president of Clear Channel Outdoor] added that digital billboards’ utility for emergency public messaging, such as weather advisories and “Amber Alerts” for missing children, provides “an invaluable emergency messaging system to the communities in which we do business.”

So far, around 400 electronic billboards have been deployed in the U.S., averaging at $500,000 for each unit.

These things are a bit controversial however. Some say they distract drivers. The New York Times had an article on digital signs in January.

While the billboard industry says the digital signs are not dangerous, driving safety researchers say there has not been enough research to know for sure. Most driving studies have focused on cellphone use. Still, researchers said the digital signs may tax drivers’ awareness more than old-fashioned static signs.

“In my opinion, they’re definitely distracting,” said Deanna Singhal, research associate at the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, a driving safety group in Ottawa. “It’s going to not only keep their eyes away from the road more, but it’s also more cognitively demanding.”

A study commissioned by the Federal Highway Administration is recommending further research into whether the signs present risks to drivers, said Dale Keyes, who oversaw the research. The study, by the Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, a federal agency in Tucson, will be released in a few weeks. The federal government has also allotted $150,000 for a future study of digital signs.

Digital signs are banned in a few states already. At least one digital sign, operated by a company called Lamar in Birmingham, Alabama, was ordered turned off:

The board’s still images changed every six seconds and showed different ads in a continuous loop, [Lamar lawyer Robert] Baugh said.

There is no animation on the sign, but many members of the board said they felt like the fast-change feature made it look like the sign’s images and lights were moving - something not allowed under the sign ordinance.

Lamar got a sign building permit from the city before it spent $190,000 converting the existing billboard to digital. But board chairman George Pierce said the investment and revenue loss is not enough of a hardship for the city to grant the variance.

“Our biggest concern is public safety in that area,” Pierce said.

I think these things are potentially very distracting when they’re directly in front of a driver, for example when there’s a curve in the road ahead and there’s a sign right there. But off to the side, they’ll be just one more distraction among many, which we’ll learn to tune out.