Yet consider the time a driver’s eyes must spend not watching the road in order to decipher “c u l8tr,” not to mention take in the headline and tagline. Ironically, this board could be an accident waiting to happen.
Not long ago, I noted another another local billboard that was filled with long, hard-to-read copy sure to keep anyone’s eyes off the road for far too long. That was bad enough. Even worse, the advertiser happened to be a law enforcement agency.
(By the way, you shouldn’t talk on your phone while driving, either. No, you are not the exception. I admit that I used to balk at that notion, but eventually I conceded that the data are conclusive. That is why if you call my cell while I’m driving, you’ll get a recorded message promising a call back once I have safely pulled over. For a great read on this and other topics, pick up The Invisible Gorilla, by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons.)
—Steve Cuno