Are roadside signs effective in conveying a message, or do they just add to roadside pollution and potentially cause driver distraction?. Photo / File
Are roadside signs effective in conveying a message, or do they just add to roadside pollution and potentially cause driver distraction?. Photo / File
ON THE ROAD
There's been a whole lot of new signs erected in Northland lately. All of them want us to do something. Two, that I'm aware of went up around Murphy's Corner, that problem piece of road heading out to Ngunguru.
A couple of years ago there was a public outcry aboutthe dangerous sweeping corner that was a tragedy waiting to happen.
At that stage, only three minor injury crashes, one serious injury crash and no fatal crashes had been reported to Whangārei District Council.
But locals knew better. Property owner Gwen Murphy had numerous tales about almost weekly crashes on her corner and Northland AA joined the chorus to do something about it.
Then, in January last year, there was a fatal crash and Murphy's Corner came urgently on to the council radar. In the past two months two large, imposing warning signs have been erected on each end of the corner alerting drivers to the dangers along the road.
A car slides off the road at Murphy's Corner. Two large, warning signs have been erected on each end of the corner alerting drivers to the dangers on this section of Ngunguru Rd. Photo / File
One of the two signs recently erected on Ngunguru Road at each end of Murphy's corner. Photo / John Stone
The other group of signs are a whole lot of election signs asking us to vote for the identified candidates in the coming local government elections. As a past participant in this process, I often questioned the value of these signs, but concluded that, because all the others had them, then I had to be there too.
The question remains, though, "Are roadside signs effective in conveying a message, or do they just add to roadside pollution and potentially cause driver distraction?". The answer it seems, is that it depends on the billboard and the message conveyed.
There are three types of billboard generally recognised. The most common are the traditional static billboards which continuously display the same message.
We are increasingly seeing the static digital billboard with a light emitting screen with messages being digitally replaced by another message after a set period of time.
Road Controlling Authorities and contractors use these effectively to indicate changing road conditions. Then we have video billboards which display moving messages and which have a very limited place beside the road.
Perhaps the most iconic billboard we've had in New Zealand is the "Yeah-right" series for beer brand Tui. The beauty of these billboards is their simplicity and humour. Photo / File
The most quoted study about the effectiveness of roadside billboards is the 2009 Arbitron National In-Car Study. This identified that 71 per cent of Americans consciously look at billboard messages while driving, with 58 per cent learning about an event or restaurant from them.
Twenty-six per cent noted a phone number or website address written on a billboard and over half of the drivers mentioned a billboard they found interesting or funny, in a subsequent conversation.
Perhaps the most iconic billboard we've had in New Zealand is the "Yeah-right" series for beer brand Tui. The beauty of these billboards is their simplicity and humour.
A short sentence, white text on black background on the left-hand side of the banner and the ironic reply,"Yeah right" above the Tui logo on the other side. It has become part of the Kiwi vernacular.
Roadside billboards work in getting noticed if they have a simple, clear message with a touch of irony or humour. Whether or not that getting noticed, causes a change in road safety behaviour or causes a driver distraction, is still a live question.
We are increasingly seeing the static digital billboard with a light emitting screen with messages being digitally replaced by another message after a set period of time. Photo / File
It is very difficult to assess the effect of billboards on road accidents in a scientifically robust way.
Accidents are rare events and a long observation period is required. Most studies use a driving simulator and these suggest that drivers tend to behave less safely in the neighbourhood of billboards.
Specifically, there is more lane drift, more tailgating, slower responses to sudden braking, a tendency to overlook road signs and forgetting to use direction indicators. More research needs to be done.
Common sense, though, says billboards and election signs should not compete with roadside safety signs or be erected at high risk sections of road. We will all breathe a sigh of relief when, on October 12, this temporary roadside pollution needs to be removed.
• John Williamson is chairman of Roadsafe Northland and Northland Road Safety Trust, a former national councillor for NZ Automobile Association and former Whangārei District Council member.
