A South Dakota company is keeping close tabs on emerging efforts to ban and regulate digital billboards.

Brookings' Daktronics is one of the country's largest producers of digital signs and billboards and employs two people whose sole job responsibility is "signage legislation."

"In a perfect world, it would be great to say we should do whatever we want with these signs," said Terra Fisher, who works with communities throughout the country on sign-code issues. "But if cities are planning on regulating, they're going to regulate, regardless of our opposition.

"So, why not give them as much education as possible so they know what they're regulating?"
Daktronics looks to provide communities with information about how digital sign technology works and what exactly can be regulated, Fisher said. For one, signs can be modified to lessen brightness, extend message duration and other operational aspects.

A company representative spoke at the Rapid City Council meeting last week, offering Daktronics' help in any regulation changes aldermen were considering.

"When it comes to a ban, of course, we don't support that," Fisher said. "We just hope with the information they're provided that they can see a ban isn't necessarily the way to go. There's a way to provide a balance that makes business owners and the community happy."

Fisher said Daktronics supports regulation because it prevents the technology from being abused -- shining too brightly at night or flashing rapidly, for example. But that doesn't mean digital billboards are dangerous overall.

According to the sign industry, no study has ever found a conclusive link between digital billboards and unsafe driving conditions.

Instead, industry representatives say, digital signs offer more flexibility and more opportunities for local businesses to advertise. Signs can also rapidly display important public service announcements like missing child alerts and other searches for people.

"There's a difference between distraction and a safety hazard," Fisher said. "Yes, people look at them, but in eye-glance studies, they have found that the glances at these signs aren't on the threshold where they could be a safety hazard."