COSTA RICA NEWS – This is a story of trying to fix something after the problem has occurred (the horse is out of the barn, so to speak), of the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) trying to stop something happening when it has already happened: the big and bright billboard advertising screens located on the country’s roads.
The Departamento de Inspección Vial y Demoliciones (highway inspection) at the MOPT says it has declared “war” on the large obtrusive signs. In the opinion of Inspección Vial, the signs violate legislation on advertising on public streets and can even be dangerous for drivers. See related note Large, Bright Lumious Road Signs Will Soon Go Dark
As such, in June the MOPT division undertook a “hunt” for the big screens, taking action against the first two: one in Heredia and the other in Curridabat.
However, that action didn’t go over so well, truncated by a injunction issued by the Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo, following an appeal by the adveritising firm, Interamericana Medios de Comunicación (IMC), owner of these and other electronic billboards.
Vinicio Barboza, head of Inspección Vial, admits that it hasn’t been until now that the MOPT has started to get tough on this type of advertising, not applying the Rules and Rights of Way Outdoor Advertising (Reglamento de los Derechos de Vía y Publicidad Exterior).
Barboza says they have identified some 100 large signs of the kind througout the country and have started the process of getting each disconnected.
The chief says that since starting to work at Inspección Vial last year, he has been reviewing the law and though there is not direct mention in the legislation about luminous LED screens, subsection c of article 52 of the MOPT, points out illegal any advertisement that “fires rays of light or those that directly affect the visual ability of the driver.”
According to Barboza, that’s the key to shutting down the electronic billboards. Another point made by Barboza is that the owners of the billboards do not have permits to erect the structures.
With respect to mobile electronic billboards, the Policia de Tránsito (traffic police), have been ordered by the Minister of Transport, Carlos Segnini, to apply fines to vehicles carrying such signs parked on the side of the road. Transit records indicate that, to date, no fines have been issued, yet we can see these mobile signs in operation on a regular basis.
Defending themselves, Jonathan Picado, lawyer for IMC, says tha the MOPT has issued them permits for years and “now we are being told that we are illegal. They are making an illegal interpretation.” The lawyer also attacked the argument that it affects drivers, saying that the signs meet global standards not to exceed 0.3 foot candle.
“None of products exceed the limit, but curiously Consejo de Seguridad Vial (Cosevi) do. They (MOPT) cannot distinguish where the law does not distinguish,” Picado noted.
Source: La Nacion
So what kind of PROOF • FACTS do they have proving there are more accidents RIGHT THERE where these signs are?
I think if MOPT TRULY wanted to improve the accident rate, they’d IMMEDIATELY start making Drivers EDUCATION MANDATORY to get a drivers license so people here can learn HOW to drive well & considerably.
(this is not just a slam at Ticos as it seems like every gringo bad driver has come to live/drive here also based on what I’ve seen all these years living here!!).
In the early hours, around 4:30AM I might drive in Lindora to Belen and I need to say that these signs, all by IMC, are anoying and my eyes certainly go to them as opposed to pedestrians and traffic, no matter how limited that time of day. They are tacky and we are not Las Vegas, or are we?
Its a start! I hate the illuminated signs. I hope they take it a step further an place some restrictions on billboards in general.
Costa Rica – “No artificial ingredients!” Remember that one? – yeah right….
TVs are not permitted in the front seat of cars where they might distract drivers. These signs are a distraction in the same way. I have found them distracting. They have no place near busy roadways where driving conditions are chaotic enough. If the law doesn’t prohibit them, we need a new law.
The US Department of Highway Safety has commissioned several studies specifically to determine whether outdoor digital billboards increased traffic accidents. They repeatedly found no correlation. Even Las Vegas, the epitome of gaudy outdoor adverting, doesn’t report excessive distraction-related accidents on the Strip. A much more likely cause of accidents is driver distraction due to cellphone use (whether hands-free or not). To err on the side of safety, highway billboards in the US are only allowed to display short animations and static content. In other words, no full motion video, live TV feeds, etc. Those things ARE permitted for what they call ‘on-premise’ signs, which are typically smaller and are located on the premise of businesses, schools, hospitals, etc. When a lighted sign is seen as “too bright” at night, it’s often because the automatic brightness has been overridden in a misguided attempt to grab motorist attention.
The truth is we live in a hyper-connected digital world, and technology marches inexorably onward. The manufacturers who are sensitive to the fact technology should be for the betterment of our quality of life will hopefully float to the top, improving things for everyone.