LED: Light Evoking Distraction? A driving simulator study on the distracting effect of illuminated LED-advertising signs.

Abstract

The presence of an illuminated LED-advertising sign can influence the visual behaviour during driving. This study investigates the effect of display time, location of LED-billboards and road environment on driver behaviour. Forty-one participants drove seven different routes (3.8 to 5.2km) in a medium fidelity fixed-base driving simulator. In every scenario the illuminated billboard was presented in 2 different road environments: a transition road to a built-up area and an area with retail stores. We used a within-subject design (repeated measures ANOVA) with display time (3s, 6s and 15s), distance from a pedestrian crossing (41m and 65m) and road environment as the manipulated conditions in a randomized order.

Eye tracking data showed that smaller display times of the message and an area with retail stores resulted in a higher number of eye glances towards the LED-billboard. All participants looked at the LED-billboard and 49% could recall one or more messages. The NASA Task Load Index revealed that the presence of a LED-advertising sign resulted in a significantly higher mental work load and a lower estimation of personal driving performance.

Based on these results, we conclude that the presence of an illuminated billboard leads to (visual) distraction while driving. Practical implications will be discussed.