The Possible Effects of Commercial Electronic Variable Message Signs (CEVMS) on Driving Safety - Phase 1

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Foreword

The Highway Beautification Act of 1965 outlined control of outdoor advertising, including removal of certain types of advertising signs, along the Interstate Highway System and the existing Federal-aid primary roadway system. Since that time, most States have evolved a body of legislation and/or regulations to control off-premise outdoor advertising (billboards), and many local governments have developed similar rules.

The advent of new electronic billboard technologies, in particular the digital Light-Emitting Diode (LED) billboard, has necessitated a reevaluation of current legislation and regulation for controlling outdoor advertising. In this case, one of the concerns is possible driver distraction.

In the context of the present report, outdoor advertising signs employing this new advertising technology are referred to as Commercial Electronic Variable Message Signs (CEVMS). They are also commonly referred to as Digital Billboards (DBB) and Electronic Billboards (EBB).

The present report reviews research concerning the possible effects of CEVMS used for outdoor advertising on driver safety, including possible attention and distraction effects. The report consists of an update of earlier published work, an investigation of applicable research methods and techniques, recommendations for future research, and an extensive bibliography. The report should be of interest to highway engineers, traffic engineers, highway safety specialists, the outdoor advertising industry, environmental advocates, Federal policy makers, and State and local regulators of outdoor advertising.

Michael F. Trentacoste
Director, Office of Safety Research and Development

Gerald Solomon
Director, Office of Real Estate Services

Notice
This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.

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*SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380.
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Table of Contents

1. 1.0 Introduction
   1. 1.1 Basic Research Question
   2. 1.2 Scope
2. 2.0 Literature Review Update
   1. 2.1 Background
   2. 2.2 Post-Hoc Crash Studies
   3. 2.3 Field Investigations
   4. 2.4 Laboratory Investigations
   5. 2.5 Previous Literature Reviews
   6. 2.6 Reviews Of Practice
   7. 2.7 Conclusions from Literature Review
      1. 2.7.1 Basic Research Question
      2. 2.7.2 Methodological Implications
3. 3.0 Key Factors and Measures
   1. 3.1 Key Factors (Independent Variables)
   2. 3.2 Key Measures (Dependent Variables)
4. 4.0 Research Strategies
5. 5.0 Future Research Program
   1. 5.1 Stages
   2. 5.2 Approach
   3. 5.3 Structure
      1. 5.3.1 Stage 1 - Determination of Distraction
      2. 5.3.2 Stage 2 - Basis for Regulation
      3. 5.3.3 Stage 3 - Relationship to Crashes
6. 6.0 Recommended First Stage Study
   1. 6.1 Summary of Study Approaches
      1. 6.1.1 On-Road Instrumented Vehicle
      2. 6.1.2 Naturalistic Driving
      3. 6.1.3 Unobtrusive Observation
   2. 6.2 Comparison of Study Alternatives
7. 7.0 Conclusions

Appendix

1. Appendix A - Expanded Tables
   1. A.1 Key Factors (Independent Variables)
   2. A.2 Key Measures (Dependent Variables)
   3. A.3 Key Research Strategies
2. Appendix B - Detailed Description of Studies
   1. B.1 On-road Instrumented Vehicle Approach..
      1. B.1.1 Method
      2. B.1.2 Factors and Measures
      3. B.1.3 Advantages/Disadvantages
      4. B.1.4 Budgetary Cost
   2. B.2 Naturalistic Driving Approach
      1. B.2.1 Method
      2. B.2.2 Factors and Measures
      3. B.2.3 Advantages/Disadvantages
      4. B.2.4 Budgetary Cost
   3. B.3 Unobtrusive Observation Approach
      1. B.3.1 Method
      2. B.3.2 Factors and Measures
      3. B.3.3 Advantages/Disadvantages
      4. B.3.4 Budgetary Cost
3. Acknowledgements
4. References
5. Bibliography

List of Tables

1. Table 1. Expanded key factors (independent variables)
2. Table 2. Expanded key measures (dependent variables)
3. Table 3. Expanded key research strategies

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