The Impact of Billboards on Driver Visual Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Objective External distraction appears to affect at least 6–9% of distraction-affected motor vehicle collisions. Billboards may be good models for studying external distraction in general, and it is also desirable to understand billboard-related distraction per se. However, there has not yet been a clear consensus on the scope of billboard-related distraction or its dynamics with respect to characteristics of drivers, billboards, traffic, and the roadway. To narrow these knowledge gaps, a systematic literature review was conducted on billboard-related changes in driver visual behavior. Methods A systematic literature search yielded 443 results, of which 8 studies met all inclusion criteria. Five studies meeting all inclusion criteria were later identified and added. Results were analyzed in terms of 4 categories of visual behavior: (1) gaze variability (GV), glance pattern activity (GPA), and percentage of time spent glancing at the forward roadway; (2) glances at unexpected drive-relevant stimuli; (3) glances at expected drive-relevant stimuli; and (4) glances at billboards. Results There was considerable evidence that about 10–20% of all glances at billboards were ≥0.75 s, that active billboards drew more glances and more long glances (≥0.75 s, ≥2.0 s) than passive billboards but did not attract a longer average glance, and that there was large variability among individual billboards within categories (e.g., active vs. passive). The extent to which billboards attracted glances ≥ 2.0 s was uncertain. There was tentative evidence that billboards did not affect GPA, glances at expected drive-relevant stimuli, or the proportion of time drivers spent glancing at the forward roadway and that they did affect vertical GV and glances at unexpected drive-relevant stimuli. Conclusions Generally, billboard-related distraction appeared to be minor and regulated by drivers as the demands of the driving task changed. However, this review’s findings suggest that this may not be true in all cases. Future research should emphasize the tails of the distribution in addition to average cases, in terms of both the analysis of visual behavior and the complexity of driving tasks. Further research is also needed to understand the effects of billboard design, driver characteristics, and road and traffic context.

Visual behavior differences in drivers across the lifespan: A digital billboard simulator study

“…The literature review conducted by Decker et al (2015) concluded that the risk associated with billboards in most driving situations is likely minimal, but that this risk can vary widely with billboard characteristics, and possibly with driver, road, and traffic characteristics. Thus, the review suggested that future research in the field focus on identifying the specific qualities of drivers, billboards, and roadway/traffic environments that correspond to the highest risk of billboard-related distraction, and quantifying such distraction in these highest-risk situations and populations (i.e., as opposed to in the average, relatively low-risk case).…”

“…Glance types were stratified by length of glance (≥ 0.75 seconds and ≥ 2.0 seconds) to be consistent with previous work (Decker et al, 2015). 0.75 seconds has been suggested as the minimum perception-reaction time (PRT) for a vehicle slowing ahead of the driver (Smiley et al, 2004), and long glances of 2.0 seconds or longer have been shown in naturalistic studies to be especially associated with MVCs and other traffic incidents (Klauer, Dingus, Neale, Sudweeks, & Ramsey, 2006);…”

“…Importantly, however, none have utilized as wide an array of visual attention measures as in the present study. Furthermore, despite the individual findings of each of these studies, the indications of the literature as a whole have been unclear on the specific effects of driver age and experience on distraction by billboards (Decker et al, 2015). …”

“…Although such studies have provided a better understanding of the distracting effects of billboards in the general population, a recent comprehensive review of the literature on visual distraction by billboards concluded that too little research has examined how these distractive effects differ across the lifespan, namely among teens (16–19 years old), middle-aged adults (35–55 years old), and older adults (65 years and older) (Decker et al, 2015). Teenagers (16–19 years of age) and older adults (65+ years of age) are at the highest risk for MVCs due to a variety of factors (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2011).…”

“…Participants in three age groups (teen, middle and older) were asked to drive through a simulated scenario embedded with a variety of billboards (static and digital). To address gaps in the existing literature on visual behavior as it relates to digital advertising billboards (Decker et al, 2015), we considered the following visual variables across age groups and billboard types: percent of time participants looked at billboards, average glance length, number of glances, and glance pattern activity.…”