In 2018, the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) partnered with the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) to investigate driver behaviour in the presence of two digital billboards at complex intersections in Queensland.

This latest research replicates a world-first 2017 study by the ARRB that was conducted for Main Roads Western Australia. Both studies measured drivers as they passed a digital billboard in a real-world environment. Drivers were naïve to the studies, meaning the results accurately represent how people drive in the presence of digital signs.

The results

  • Lane drift either improved or was unaffected
  • Stopping over the line improved at five of the six dwell time-site combinations
  • There were no incidents (crashes or red light running)

The evidence is in, good Outdoor advertising makes roads safer in three ways:

  1. Roadside digital signage can have a positive impact on the way we drive.
  2. OOH campaigns save lives and reduces serious incidents on our roads.
  3. OOH advertising generates revenue, funding improvements to our roads.

Download the 2018 research summary and full report.

In 2015, the OMA conducted the first ever Australian on-road study to compare drivers’ eye fixations and driving performance when advertising signs were present.

The study aimed to explore the relationship between drivers’ viewing behaviour towards Outdoor signs and their subsequent driving performance in a live, real-world environment. It compared driver performance in the presence of third-party signage (both digital and static) and on-premise signage.

The results

  • Drivers maintain their eyes on the road 78–79% of the time, regardless of what signage is present
  • Ninety-nine percent of fixations at advertising signs last less than 750 milliseconds, the minimum time needed by a driver to perceive and react to an unexpected event
  • Drivers maintained a safe average headway and there were no lane departures.

View and download the peer reviewed paper here.

For access to the peer-reviewed paper, contact the OMA.