Should LED Signs Be Banned?

I have to admit, that when I was driving and saw a flash out of the corner of my I. I took my eyes off the road and cranked my head around to see what it was.........only to find it was some G.D. sign with LED around it, telling you to drive safe.

Government has to have something to do with that.

We have been using LED signs for driver information for quite a number of years. We and the drivers on our freeway network find them verry usefull. They are safe in the way that they are installed and operated.

Recent enhancements in LED sign technologies have created a market in the advertising industry. As all advertising, along the roadside is meant to attract attention, it is upon the driver to keep his attention on the task. That said, LED and other lighted advertising can have a distracting influence on even the most committed driver. We in Minnesota have gone so far as to strongly suggest minimum times that a single message can be displayed. Flashing displays are an overwhelming distraction to the driver.

I think that roadside LED displays should be strongly regulated and if allowed at all they should be subject to the same design and safety constraints that we in the DOT use for our installations.

Are you referring to advertising signs or road warning signs? I'm addressing the latter. LED signs can be distracting to drivers with poor peripheral vision or eyesight. An LED sign should be easy to read at a distance suitable to allow the driver to read it without turning the head. The message should be short and to the point to prevent any dwell time on the sign. It can be done safely as long as the points mentioned can be met. It is necessary for the sign to flash. Flashing immediately alerts the driver well in advance to read it while within a safe distance.

Signs posted for advertising purposes should follow the same rules as for road safety signs, but their information content makes that a difficult task. I wonder if these sign designers take highway safety into account.

They dont bother me a bit.

Has the problems of daily life gotten so low that signage is now on the pointless things to bitch about list?

I am looking forward to when they start replacing them too though. Thousands of high brightness LED's and driver boards dirt cheap!

LED advertising lights are unbelievably bright when they are first installed, but it will be interesting to see what they look like after they reach half life. I was driving down a road recently with a lot of LED advertisements and I was nearly blinded by the amount of glare from the signs.

I am sure this has not gone unrecognised by the municipalities and your light pollution advocates. It should be interesting to see what they do.

LED signs are the way to go, considering the energy and environmental footprint, the're the best choice. They just have to be implemented properly like any lighting system.

I'm with Guest. LEDs are the way to go. Longer life than fluorescents, no mercury (like in fluorescents), and much lower power usage.

I too cannot wait to see LEDs being used as the primary light source in the world.

As far as the title of this thread goes...NO, LEDs should not be banned. Sounds like there should be some government restrictions on roadside advertisement to me.

Blame marketing, not the light! Ya know, it was man who put the light there and told it what to do in the first place.

Years back, a lady legislator was instrumental in having roadside billboards banned in her state. The reason was "to beautify our highways".

I happen to agree with her.

I do also think LEDs are the right way - too many advantages compared with other concepts. But, not surprisingly as always in our technology world, they should be adapted intelligently. That means, they should be dimmed by daylight intensity, avoiding the named disadvantages and leading to another amount of less energy consumption.

If LED signs are appropriately designed for the location, there should be no problem. They can of course behave similarly to other signs. But the high brightness of LEDs means you can arrange that the signs can be seen only from where they are relevant - and that can promote safety. Problems arise when the technical capabilities are "exploited" without regard to the actual requirement.

It's prudent to consider them distracting, but our eyes will get used to seeing them. I have a strong feeling we'll see more, too. I've certainly seen more popping up here and there in my area, but I'm starting to avoid them now that I'm used to it.

I don't know about the going rate for a large LED advertising signage versus a traditional print or lighting display, but I do know that LED signs must save some production and installation costs. In regards to a ban, it ultimately would come down to a zoning issue for local municipalities to consider individually.

LED signs can be useful in certain circumstances such as no turn on red accompanying a red light, but I find that there are certain cars with LED taillights that are arranged in either lined or odd geometric patterns distracting even more. It improves visibility, but too much is too much.