Electronic Signs & Driver Safety

In addition to full compliance with local, state & federal sign regulations, CEIS follows a series of safety rules with all digital sign displays.  Only static images are used (no videos, animations or flashing/blinking) and images change no more frequently than every eight seconds.   Additionally, our digital signs contain light sensors and automatically dim during hours of lower light and contain a mechanism that will freeze the sign display in the event of a malfunction to prevent potentially distracting display effects.  These requirements are supported by federal guidelines, along with regulations adopted by several states through federal-state agreements, most of which have not yet been adopted at the municipal level.

For many years, many states & federal agencies have performed studies to determine the relationship between digital electronic signs and traffic safety.  In 2009, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) conducted a definitive study on driver safety with digital signs and the final report determined that drivers are not any more likely to be distracted by digital signs than stationary signs.  In a 2001 report from the FHWA, personnel from the Departments of Transportation from five states were asked if they had determined if there was a relationship between digital sign displays and traffic accidents; all five states responded that they had not identified a relationship.