FOARE's two studies address electronic-digital billboards and traffic safety.
In the May, “Moving Message” column (page 52), I ranted about the lack of evidence that counters the oft-held allegation, “Electronic-digital displays cause traffic accidents.” I said no research or reports existed that would put the issue to rest. Soon after, however, I learned that such a study was in progress.
Unknown to outsiders, the outdoor-advertising industry and its association, the Outdoor Advertising Assn. of America (OAAA), has issued, two studies that regard electronic-digital billboards and traffic safety. The Foundation for Outdoor Advertising Research and Education (FOARE), a nonprofit, education fund administered by the OAAA, commissioned both studies. The studies provide evidence that electronic-digital displays (EDD), when properly used, aren’t traffic hazards.
The Philadelphia-based research firm, Tantala Associates, whose principal engineer, Albert Tantala, is licensed in six states, conducted the most significant report, “A Study of the Relationship between Digital Billboards and Traffic Safety in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.” In addition to this report, Tantala has co-authored a traffic-safety study for the United States Sign Council (USSC). Further, he specializes in engineering for wind loads and has conducted engineering work on numerous signs.
Cuyahoga, Ohio’s most populous county, includes the city of Cleveland.
Tantala’s 106-page study specifically addresses “moving message” displays and their relationship to vehicle accidents. It considers “before and after” data for installed, electronic-digital billboards. The researchers mined the Ohio Dept. of Transportation’s statistics on traffic accidents that occurred near seven, electronic-digital billboards installed alongside Cuyahoga County freeways. The measurements incorporated pre- and post-sign-activation dates.
The study’s summary said:
• At each digital billboard, and for periods of 12 months before and after the conversation, the accident statistics and metrics are consistent, exhibiting statistically insignificant variations. The same conclusion also applies for an 18-month period before and after the conversion.
The metrics include the total number of accidents in any given month, the average number of accidents over the 12- and 18-month periods, the peak number of accidents in any given month and the number of accident-free months. These conclusions account for variations in traffic-volume and vehicle-miles traveled.
• The correlation coefficients demonstrate no statistical relationship between vehicular accidents and billboards (including conventional and the seven, electronic-digital billboards). Also, these correlation coefficients strongly suggest no causal relationship between the billboards and vehicular accidents.
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