“Should stricter laws be enacted banning billboards along our major highways?”
Stricter laws do not need to be enacted banning billboards along our major highways. Although there are some safety concerns surrounding this issue, there is not significant evidence to warrant laws banning their usage.
There are approximately 450,000 billboards (Barnes) across the nation’s 300,000 miles of state and county highways and the 150,000-mile National Highway System (Weissenstein and Fahey). With these many signs, there are a few concerns among some municipalities and residents that the billboards placed adjacent to roadways may create safety issues. These safety concerns they would argue are further magnified by the use of electronic billboards or variable message signs (VMSs). These electronic billboards allow different messages or advertisements to be shown on the screen for a given period of time (Gardyn).
However, there is not a lot of conclusive research regarding the negative impacts these signs have on drivers of roadways. In fact, there is some evidence from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America which may imply the use of electric signs actually decreased car crashes along roadways where they were being used. The study took place in both Rochester, NY and Cleveland, Ohio and actually found traffic incidents near the digital signs actually dropped by 0.4 percent (Barnes).
There are some signs placed along federal roadways where it may be illegal in certain states like Maryland (Gardyn). But the Highway Beautitication Act of 1965 already helps to address these billboards. Additionally, the Federal Highway Administration apportioned additional funds in 1992 to provide payment to the owners of signs deemed illegal (Colford and Fahey).
Additional laws do not need to be created to ban billboards. There is not enough evidence to support arguments claiming they cause safety issues to drivers. There are also already plenty of laws to oversee billboards at the federal, state, and municipality levels.
Works Cited
Barnes, Peter. “Dim Your Sign, Please.” American City & County 124.8 (2009): 19. MAS Ultra – School Edition. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
Colford, S.W., and Alison Fahey. “Feds Set Fund To Ax Outdoor Boards. (Cover Story).” Advertising Age 63.11 (1992): 1. MAS Ultra – School Edition. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
Gardyn, Rebecca. “Highway Ads Are Mobile, Innovative And Against The Law.” Advertising Age 70.36 (1999): 4. MAS Ultra – School Edition. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
Weissenstein, Eric, and Alison Fahey. “Bush Widens Outdoor Ad Ban Bill.” Advertising Age 62.9 (1991): 53. MAS Ultra – School Edition. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.