I find that large billboards…

I find that large billboards along highways are, first of all, a dangerous distraction. If it is illegal to answer the phone and read text messages while driving, I am not sure why reading large advertisements is acceptable, especially as billboards become increasingly animated, often changing screens in the course of driving by. It is not in our best interest for safety reasons to increase highway advertising. In slower moving traffic areas, this may not pose the same hazard, but overall I think it is very hypocritical to make distracted driving illegal but promote reading about gambling or shoe shopping on billboards while driving.

Secondly, I do not believe that we should be using every last bit of our natural surroundings to facilitate advertising for products by private companies. I really don't want to be advertised to every second of my day, and make a large effort to avoid this. It would be advantageous culturally to prevent rampant advertising of private goods when we historically would have enjoyed natural scenery. While it's intangible, it really does make a statement about our culture that advertising space is more important than anything else, and ideally we could find other sources of revenue.

[Original Comment ID: 205171]