Traffic and safety leaders from around the country are in Washington, DC this week at a distracted driving summit convened by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The purpose of the summit is to identify the sources of driver distraction and create an action plan for mitigating those sources and making roads as safe as possible.

Presenter Dr. John Lee of the University of Wisconsin said that billboards can be a cause of motorist distraction outside of vehicles. Dr. Lee also said that while the issue of digital billboard distraction is an active topic of FHWA research, prior studies on the issue have found that they can be a source of distraction.

In fact, a recently completed review of prior studies found: “Of those research studies that have addressed driver distraction and roadside billboards, nearly every empirical study undertaken since 1995…has demonstrated that there is an adverse relationship between distraction and digital billboards.”

Scenic America president Mary Tracy agreed that billboards should be included along with other distractions such as cell phone conversations and texting.

“There is a growing and sound body of scientific evidence that has confirmed the intuitive notion that a digital billboard -- essentially a giant TV-on-a-stick that change ad copy as much as every six seconds-- poses an unnecessary safety risk to drivers,” Tracy said.

“State and local government officials need to protect the public safety and either prohibit or strongly restrict digital signs,” she said. “We applaud Secretary LaHood for taking the leadership on an issue that has long been swept under the rug due to industry pressure and private interests.”

Contact: Max Ashburn, Director of Communication, at 202.638.1839, or ashburn@scenic.org.