The next time you take your eyes off the road to watch an ad for an SUV or soft drink, you could be putting yourself in danger.

That's the claim being made by opponents of digital billboards, the giant television-like screens in several spots along Interstate 44 and Interstate 70.

Scenic Missouri, which opposes all billboards, would like the outdoor advertising industry to stop putting up more digital ones. The flashy LED signs rotate ads every few seconds, breaking motorists' concentration, the group claims. Their brightness makes them visible for miles.

And there are other reasons.

"There's the energy consumption issue, the property values issue," said John Regenbogen, executive director of Scenic Missouri. "They're just something that's not needed."

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation gave the OK for digital billboards on highways, even though it had not finished evaluating whether the moving ads are a dangerous distraction for motorists.

Digital billboards began appearing in Missouri shortly thereafter, with nine in the St. Louis area and 45 statewide, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. They also can be found in Illinois.

The Federal Highway Administration is now studying whether the high-wattage signs do pose a safety hazard on the road. The outdoor advertising industry says they do not, adding that studies have shown the billboards are not dangerous.

"You do want people to look at them," said Jeff Golimowski of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. "But we as an industry certainly don't want them to be a dangerous distraction, and they're not."

But Regenbogen points to a 2006 National Highway Safety Traffic Administration study on how driving distractions, such as eating and using cell phones, affect motorists. The findings state that crashes go up when drivers are distracted for more than two seconds.

Regenbogen says digital billboards tear people's eyes from the road for at least that long.

"If it distracts for two seconds, it's an obvious concern," he said.

Lake Saint Louis, Columbia and Kansas City have approved ordinances prohibiting them. Scenic Missouri is pushing for similar laws in other cities.

Q. Every workday, I drive Hanley Road from the very end of Laclede Station to St. Charles Rock Road. Between Titus Road and St. Charles Rock Road, I see people struggling to walk while they avoid oncoming traffic. The area between Titus and St. Charles Rock Road is used by pedestrians and is very dangerous, especially when it is dark outside. Are there any plans to put in a sidewalk there?

— Karen Clerc, Affton

St. Louis County, which maintains that stretch of Hanley Road, has no plans to build sidewalks there, said David Wrone, a spokesman for the county Department of Highways and Traffic. The Ride Guys agree with your assessment that this part of Hanley doesn't leave many options for pedestrians.



Q. I'm just wondering why Highway 370 is so dark at night. It's not lit at all. Every time we drive it, it's pitch black.

— Olga Herdt, Florissant

The Missouri Department of Transportation does not provide continuous lighting on major state routes, with the exception of those in St. Louis, according to Andrew Gates, department spokesman. The state does illuminate exit ramps and interchanges, but only because these are places where drivers must make decisions, Gates said. Department officials believe that car headlights provide adequate lighting.

"Putting additional lighting on the roadway isn't needed and costs a significant amount of money to power and maintain the lighting," Gates said.



Q. With the construction at Highway 141 and Olive Boulevard, traffic has become worse for our subdivision. After 3 p.m., you can barely turn left out of our subdivision due to the left arrow at Olive and Creve Coeur Mill Road being really short. When you are traveling east on Olive from Highway 141 at about the same time, there is a line of cars waiting to turn left on Creve Coeur Mill Road. I fear as time goes on, it will get even worse because of the trucks that are entering and exiting the construction area. These lights need to be looked at.

— Marilyn Moresi, Maryland Heights

Traffic engineers with the Missouri Department of Transportation looked at the lights. They noted two peak times in the afternoon — shortly after 3 p.m. when school lets out and just after 4:30, said Gates, the MoDOT spokesman. "If we added more time to the left turn lane on Creve Coeur Mill, we have to take it away from Olive, which is already heavily traveled at this time," he said. Meantime, Gates said, crews doing the grading and utility relocation near Olive are doing what they can to avoid traffic.