Agenda - Council - 11/13/2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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amount of attention required to read roadside advertisements could lead to driving errors that could cause crashes. "The enormous flexibility of display possessed by CEVMS makes it possible to use them in ways that can attract drivers' attention at greater distances, hold their attention longer, and deliver a wider variety of information and image stimuli than is possible by the use of conventional advertising signs." Texas Transportation Institute for FHWA, Impacts of Using Dynamic Features to Display Messages on Changeable Message Signs (Dudek et al., 2005)12 This study examined the comprehension times for three different scenarios for DOT -operated changeable message signs. The scenarios evaluated were: • Flashing an entire one -phase message • Flashing one line of a one -phase message while two other lines of the message remain constant • Alternating text on one line of a three -line CMS while keeping the other two lines of text constant on the second phase of the message The findings of this study were: • Flashing messages did not produce faster reading times. • Flashing messages may have an adverse effect on message comprehension for unfamiliar drivers. • Average reading times for flashing line messages and two-phase messages were significantly longer than for alternating messages. • Message comprehension was negatively affected by flashing line messages. While this research did not evaluate advertising -related signs, it does demonstrate that flashing signs require more of the driver's time and attention to comprehend the message. In the case of electronic billboards, this suggests that billboards that flash may require more time and attention to read than static ones. 3.3.1 OTHER INFORMATION NHTSA Driver Distraction Internet Forum (2000) 13 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration held an internet forum to gather research and public comment related to driver distraction with an emphasis on the use of cell phones, navigation systems, wireless Internet and other in -vehicle devices. During this forum, participants were invited to take a poll to determine the most prominent driver 9