Obervations - Billboards

So, I keep noticing billboards lately that are very preachy. By that I mean that the billboards are trying to tell me either that I’m doing something wrong or just telling me to do something that they deem to be good practice. But who gave billboards the moral authority to tell us how to live? Really! I’m being serious!

Like, the other day I started noticing that there are a lot of billboards in my area that I travel that read, “I want YOU to speak against reckless driving”. Anyone else get the irony? A BILLBOARD, a big sign on the side of the road, which distracts me from the road when I look at it, is telling me to speak against reckless driving. Really? Isn’t that a little odd?

Or then there was the one that said, “Hang up and drive. It’s safer.” Really? Again, the big sign on the side of the road, the one that keeps me from being able to stay focused on driving is telling me to hang up my cell phone because it’s not safe to drive and talk. Because it IS safe to read the message on the billboard while I drive. It’s MUCH safer than talking on a cell phone. Do you ever see these signs that have so much written on them that you can’t POSSIBLY read the whole thing before you’ve passed it? So, as you’re passing it, you turn your head around to look behind you to finish reading it. As you’re doing that, you’re NOT watching the road. But, God forbid you would talk on your cell phone while you’re driving or not speak out against reckless driving!

I’ll end this segment soon, I promise, but I have one more observation. I have noticed lots of billboards that talk about things like not hitting your kids or not driving drunk. While those are good causes and noble efforts, I don’t really think it’s effective. I mean, if someone is going to get behind the wheel after drinking, a billboard is not suddenly going to speak sense into them and get them to pull over and call a cab. If someone is going to beat their child, I don’t think they are going to be swayed by a billboard’s message. It’s noble, but honestly, the most effective billboards are the ones that tell you what exit to take to get to the Outback Steakhouse.

Drive safe!