09-10-07 Item 7D, Clear Channel - Laserfiche WebLink

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3.1 Expert Opinions A combination of researchers and public policy experts were interviewed for this study. Individuals were identified while conducting background research into driver distraction and were interviewed because of their credibility in the field, Kathleen Harder, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, has conducted driver distraction research for a variety of applications, including research for Mn/DOT. She is an expert in the field of human factors and psychology. She indicated that electronic billboards pose a driver distraction threat because of their ability to display high resolution color images, their ability to change images, and their placement in relationship to the roadway, particularly in areas where the road curves, exits and entrances are present, merges, lane drops, weaving areas, key locations of official signs, and/or areas where roadways divide, Greg Davis, a researcher with the FHW A Office of Safety Research and Development, in Washington, DC was involved in the 200 I FHW A study on electronic billboards. He was interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of this critical study and to learn of recent research in this area. Davis stated that while no research has established a direct cause and effect relationship between electronic outdoor advertising signs and crash rates, the lack of such a research finding does not preclude a causal relationship between electronic billboards and crashes, He advocated for a new study that can control all variables and determine if a cause and effect relationship exists, Scott Robinson, an outdoor advertising regulator for Mn/DOT, wrote the 2003 technical memorandum that addresses allowable changes for outdoor advertising devices. Mr. Robinson indicated that the memo was originally written in 1998 to establish a permitted rate of change for tri-vision signs and that the application to electronic billboards was not considered. The minimum change rate of 4.9 seconds for 70 mph roadways and 6.2 seconds for 55 mph roadways was based on the travel time between static signs spaced at the minimum allowed distance apart, Mr. Robinson also indicated that the memo is not a MnlDOT policy, statute or rule, but rather it was written to provide intemal guidance. Jerry Wachtel, an Engineering Psychologist and highway safety expert in private practice, was the lead author for the FHW A's original (1980) study on electronic billboards. He has continued his active involvement in this field, and advises Government agencies as well as the outdoor advertising industry on sign ordinances, sign operations, and the implications of the latest research on road safety. Mr. Wachtel believes that it is neither feasible from the perspective of research design and methodology, nor necessary from a regulatory perspective, to demonstrate a causal relationship between digital billboards and road safety, Rather, he believes that we have a strong understanding, based on many years of research, of driver information processing capabilities and limitations, and of the contributions to, and consequences of, driver distraction, on crash risk; and that this understanding is sufficient to support development of guidelines and ordinances for the design, placement, and operation of digital billboards so as to lessen their potentially adverse impact on road safety and traffic operations. A6