CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE OUTDOOR ADVERTISING
Over 4 years ago, when we were "informed" about the plans for a new series of digital billboards on Squamish lands, many people were opposed to the idea because of the inherent traffic safety concerns and the perceived degradation of our scenic heritage. CROA believes that the scenic heritage of our region is fundamentally important to the continuation of our collective well being, to our economic prosperity and to the quality of our everyday lives. And no doubt our scenic heritage was a major influence on Vancouver being selected as the host city for the 2010 Olympics.
Billboard opponents appealed to the Federal Government to enforce the provisions of the Environmental Assessment Act and to uphold their rights afforded to them under the act. Opponents were effectively ignored. No one stood up for this community, and we were effectively abandoned to the whims of our Squamish Nation neighbours and their cousins in the Billboard industry.
The impact of the explosive growth of digital and LED billboards in the US is so compelling, that a national Distracted Driving Summit was convened in September 2009, in which 250 safety experts, industry representatives, elected officials were challenged to put an end to distracted driving.
Not so up here. Our Federal regulators (i.e. The Department of Indian Affairs and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency) bought the argument from the Squamish Nation that "signs are good for you" and that "Billboards wake people up". They further won the argument that there is no causal relationship between billboards and traffic safety.
Compare this to the comments of Dr. John Lee from the University of Wisconsin, a presenter at the Washington Safety Summit. "Of those research studies", he said "that have addressed driver distraction and roadside billboards, NEARLY EVERY EMPIRICAL STUDY undertaken since 1995... has demonstrated that there is an adverse relationship between distraction and digital billboards".
To overcome the argument that billboards are a distraction to drivers, the outdoor advertising industry often points to a study it says "definitively" shows the signs create no safety risks whatsoever. This study, conducted by Dr. Suzanne Lee of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, often pops up in outdoor advertising litigation, or may be given to lawmakers in hopes of persuading them of the supposed safety of highway signs.
This study is not only inherently flawed and biased; its uselessness was noted by a federal district court judge in New York. In Nichols Media Group v. The Towns of Babylon and Islip, the court held that "the Lee Study is so infected by industry bias as to lack credibility and reliability." It based its opinion on several factors:
"The study was funded by the Foundation for Outdoor Advertising Research and Education, a close affiliate of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America."
"Trial testimony revealed that representatives of the OAAA were intimately involved in the design and conduct of the Lee Study."
"The Lee Study has been neither widely disseminated nor subject to peer review. Nor have the conclusions of the Lee Study been replicated in any other study."
We can't let industry lobbyists use this discredited study as "proof" that billboards are safe. The only thing it proves is how much money the billboard industry is willing to spend making bogus arguments.
The question that has to be asked in the province of British Columbia is this: if driver distraction is so compelling that the Solicitor General has effectively banned the use of mobile phones in vehicles, why are the technologies of outdoor billboards along our roadways not governed in the same way?
And remember the "Two Second Rule".
Research has shown that it takes as little as two (2) seconds of distraction to
cause an accident. An analysis of the "100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study",
conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, released in
2006,showed that taking one's eyes off the road for more than two seconds for
any reason not directly related to driving (such as checking the rear-view mirror)
"significantly increased individual near crash/crash risk."
The Squamish billboards rotate messages every six seconds.
It's clear that our Federal Government failed to protect the public safety of this community by its approval of these LED billboards.
Our organization supports any and all attempts to render the value of these billboards to zero to any potential advertiser. We will monitor these boards and provide to the public updated lists of any advertiser and their contact information.
As consumers and shareholders of the potential advertisers we have enormous power. IT'S CALLED CHOICE.
Remember that when you buy your groceries, your soda pop, your office supplies, your wireless provider, your vacation tickets and so on, YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE.
TAKE ACTION TODAY!
LET THE ADVERTISERS KNOW THAT YOU WILL NOT BUY THEIR PRODUCT OR THEIR SERVICE IF THEY CHOOSE TO ADVERTISE ON THESE LED BILLBOARDS. And tell your friends, family and neighbours.
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!