As if drivers need another distraction on the road, enter digital billboards.  A recent article in The New York Times describes these billboards as having the same glow as Times Square with the immediacy of the Internet.  The images change every six to eight seconds, flashing timely messages to commuters.

To this day, there is no research associating these billboards to accidents, however the Federal Highway Administration is currently undergoing a study to be completed this summer.  Volunteer drivers will have eye trackers inside their cars to determine how long they glance at the billboards.

According to this article, “Only about 2,000 of the nation’s 450,000 billboards are digitized, but the industry expects there to be tens of thousands of them, as many as 15 percent of its overall inventory.  The signs are typically used in busy traffic areas, where advertisers are willing to pay a premium for them. A digital billboard costs $250,000 to $300,000, roughly half what it did five years ago, but much more than the $5,000 to $50,000 for a traditional billboard.”

Big corporations, such as General Mills, McDonald’s and Verizon, are beginning to use these digital billboards and according to Clear Channel Chief Executive, Ron Cooper, “It’s a very flexible, very responsible medium and very impactful..” Clear Channel currently has 450 digital billboards across the U.S. and plans to add another 150 this year.

What are your views?  Will a flashing, Vegas-like billboard on the Mass Pike distract you from the road?  Or are these billboards a smart idea, as we move ahead in a technologically savvy (and paperless) society, giving advertisers more flexibility and creativity with campaigns?