HawthorneVillager.com

In the last couple of years, I have seen more and more video advertising boards (VAB) created at major intersections in Milton. Large TV's with pictures and video. With the growing concern over distracted drivers, I am really surprised city council has not reduced or eliminated these boards from intersections. Today, while waiting for the advanced light at Louis St. Laurent and Main, a truck in the opposite direction ran the red and almost smashed right into me. I was heading West on Main and he was heading East. There is a VAB right in the gas station on the North side, and I was watching him look at board.

There are another two VAB's at Main and Thompson. I've seen similar incidents there. I wonder what the traffic studies tell us about these boards? I haven't been able to find any studies, but I'm sure the city has already looked at this before they approved this. Do other people think this is dangerous? Do we really need this kind of advertising in the city?


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Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.

Yes I think it is dangerous but these video signs are on private property. Laws would need to change or be created to ban this sort of thing. A legal nightmare, who gets the ball rolling. The Town has some of these signs already.

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we need to see some proof the driver was looking at the screen when he ran the red light. until then, this is hearsay.

are you sure about that? i would have thought there was already some sort of by-law that dealt with things like that. sort of like normal billboards. you can't just slap those up wherever you like, simply because it's private property. but who knows, maybe these video signs are unregulated.

There is a by-law on portable signs (like the ones on wheels) on Town property, boulevards.

IMHO they are very distracting, on the lines of texting. The one at J S & Main, I can't see it from where I am with a building in the way but at night when it changes from a dark screen to a white one it lights up the whole sky. The way the ads are set up brightness wise they are designed to get your attention. Just what a driver needs, a distraction.

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That's exactly what happens. Unfortunately the changes in light trick the driver into thinking the traffic light has changed. Late one night in Hamilton, with nobody on the road, I caught myself moving forward through the red and only stopped by chance. I was very tired and coming home from work. The billboard lights had changed, not the red light. That's why this guy in the truck went right through.

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Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.

Sign by law is due to be reviewed as per Council Session July 21, 2014 (about 1 1/2 hours in)

http://archive.isiglobal.ca/vod/milton/ ... 1.mp4.html

Kill them all with fire!

They even claim election signs distract drivers
http://globalnews.ca/video/1554208/elec ... t-drivers/

It kind of must be true; if drivers never saw the election sign then there is no point in putting one up right
Would love to see this tremendous waste killed once and for all

Those video billboards are an eyesore and a waste of electricity anyway, but not anywhere near the waste of electricity from the stores that close but leave their lights on overnight. I hate that so much.

IMO, these billboards are distraction. Specially when it is getting dark and these signs are flashing ads.

After spending a lot of time in the US, I was thinking to myself what we need in Ontario is more laws, bylaws and regulation.( sarcasm) We're good. Were over governed and over regulated, over penalized to the point of ridiculousness. Quite frankly, the less laws the better. Ever drive in Manhattan or the strip in Vegas? The appliance store video screen by the Esso is not causing accidents.

I for one do not want this place to resemble Manhattan or the Vegas strip.

If we have to pound a bylaw up someone's backside to prevent that then that's OK by me.

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This one thing probably never goes away
I think this one thing is always supposed to stay
This one thing doesn't have to go away

I completely agree with you...I think there needs to be more done to control this. The USA is a great place to visit but I would never want to live there.

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Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.

I'm not a fan of these either, but it shouldn't be a YES or NO decision, because the NO won't have any traction. There should be rules on the types of content, and regulate the flashing, animation, etc, and just make it a regular video billboard. Driving on the Gardiner there are lots of huge billboards - none with crazy flashing high contrast content - are there rules in place there? maybe we can copy their rules?
No need to reinvent the wheel with every problem we have here in town... the answers are out there.