With the advent of the digital era, the topic surrounding the impact of LED display signs or billboards on driver behavior has gained notable momentum. Several studies and research have brought the fact to the forefront that digital outdoor signage does influence driving behavior. They are distracting. They distract because their prime intention is to distract passers-by to grab attention.
The marketing and advertising industries today are really vast, and they’re still growing. Digital exterior signage is the combination of novel marketing strategies and incredibly growing technology. So, practically, you can’t avoid it, but you can’t simply go on with the risks posed by them.
The Distraction
If you look at the road safety manuals, you won’t find any trace of driving behavior related to the LED signage boards. You’ll only come across rules based on issues like reckless driving, mobile- or alcohol-influenced driving, violating traffic signal laws, etc.
Why?
Because, it’s normal human behavior that we spontaneously get attracted to brightness, especially when it’s in switching motions. This is the sensory reaction. Thus, the switching of different ads on a digital company signboard can potentially develop covert or even unconscious attention towards the mighty displays on the part of the drivers.
So whenever, as it is very often now, illuminating board signage with its LED display comes into view from quite a distance with all its magnificence, if not direct, drivers can’t usually restrict themselves from peripheral visions towards it. Thus, as revealed by certain research, 75% of drivers pay attention to digital billboards, while 51% of them, to static billboards. Yet another study shows that the eye movement patterns of drivers are greatly impacted by bright digital signs.
The risk factor depends upon how long those gazes are. Usually, such attentions are dangerous when the attention span exceeds 2 seconds, as studies show.
The Other Side of the View
This issue can’t be seen in black and white. Like everything else, it has another side of the view too. Although the significance of the topic is undeniable, you can’t just get rid of the digital signage industry. Several issues like unemployment will rise if attempting to do so. Besides, while doing so will make the world risk a good multibillion dollars, there’s no distinctive proof that billboard-stricken distracted drivers have often crashed their vehicles. Rather, studies have exposed that the longest time span marked on the part of the drivers while noticing a billboard is 1.335 seconds, which is not closer to the threshold of danger.
Furthermore, depending upon the individual differences of the drivers based on their ages, personal traits, experiences, etc., driving behavior can differ greatly.
Conclusion
While distraction comes from something that you can’t literally control, things become complicated. The digital signage suppliers in Dubai or any other global city are growing even prominently with the growing demands of time. LED display signage is inescapable in the current digitalized world.
If you plan to have LED outdoor signage for your business in Dubai without creating a distraction for the driver, Rizq Group could be the solution. Although there’s no such proof of changing driving behaviours because roadside distractions like digital signage are a potential drawback to safety measures, you can’t altogether ignore it. Rizq Group always maintains standard rules and safety protocols to make it safe for everyone.