Have you ever been driving and suddenly got distracted by a billboard you’ve never seen before? Well, this answer is very common among drivers on today’s roads and highways. A recent survey by Privilege Insurance found that 30% of drivers in the UK admitted to losing focus while driving due to a billboard or sign.
Why is driver distraction important?
Driver distraction increases the chances of a vehicle accident occurring. It is one of the main underlying causes of car accidents. In fact, driver behavior is cited as one of the four causes of vehicle accidents listed below in order from the most important cause to the least important cause:
1. Driver behavior
2. Poor road maintenance
3. Road design
4. Equipment failure
In fact, more than 95% of car accidents have some degree of driver behavior as part of the cause, even if some or all of the other primary causes are involved.
Why a few seconds of inattention are important
We’ve all done it: we momentarily take our eyes off the road. The problem is that sometimes drivers take their eyes off the road for too long or at a crucial point. If a driver is distracted by bright colors or someone wearing sexy lingerie on a billboard while diving near you, he could end up in a car accident. Orlando car accident attorneys Best & Anderson are all too familiar with this scenario.
Additionally, electronic and mobile billboards with pop-up sections can increase the chance of an accident because people tend to stare at them longer than traditional billboards.
If drivers are distracted for five seconds while traveling at 60 miles per hour, then they are not looking at the road for 100 yards or more (the length of a football field), which is more than enough time for a car accident to occur. .
Even more disturbing, a 2006 study by the University of Nottingham found that up to 50% of the time a driver spends on the road may involve paying attention to distractions on the road.
Drivers are even distracted by the plethora of signs that are actually supposed to help them navigate the roads.
All of this adds up to a huge potential for car accidents to occur.
The Phenomenon of “Highway Hypnosis”
Some people may claim that billboards help ease drivers’ boredom on long road trips. This would be a positive benefit for billboards. However, a counterargument to this idea is the phenomenon of “highway hypnosis”. This is so called because when you drive down a flat, straight section of road, you go into an almost trance-like state due to the monotony of everything looking very similar. Drivers can end up fixating on a billboard that seems to come out of nowhere during their “hypnosis” and end up causing an accident.
Privilege Insurance found that in the UK, road distractions affected 83% of UK drivers. That number surely can apply to drivers from the United States as well.
This is an alarming statistic because it validates what we already suspect: being inundated by signs and billboards while driving down the road can be distracting while driving. In fact, there’s even a sign that says, “Keep your eyes on the road and stop reading these signs.”