A Phoenix resident said they were distracted by a blazing digital screen installed on the back of a large truck while driving on the highway. And in an irony nearly too good to be true, the ad was encouraging them to vote for a certain local politician for city council — a governing body that supposedly makes life better and safer for residents.
The driver posted a photo of the offending sign on Reddit. They covered the name of the politician, but the glaring colors and luminosity of the sign were still apparent.
"How are these light up advertising trucks legal?" they wrote. "I thought it was illegal to display blue light anywhere on a vehicle, and red anywhere except the rear!"
Much debate ensued in the comments section about the aforementioned law. While there was no clear consensus as to whether the ad was legal, one person offered the following explanation: "The 'spirit' of the law seems to intend to restrict lighting that would cause someone to misinterpret a vehicle as an emergency vehicle. My guess is that this is how police enforce it. Though to the letter of the law, I think the posted vehicle would be in violation."
Criticizing the politician, whose signage — even anonymized — was recognizable to the Phoenix locals, one person said, "Absolutely atrocious how he litters the city with his excessive signage and drives these horrendous trucks around."
Another chimed in, adding, "I'll vote for ANY politician that runs on making these ad trucks illegal across the board."
Arizona is hardly the only place where these billboards have appeared. And they've been controversial everywhere.
"That totally doesn't look like a distracted driving accident waiting to happen," one commenter said wryly.
Adding even more frustration to the situation is the fact that such advertising generally promotes a societal mindset of overconsumption, leading to the increased pollution that warms the planet. These days, it feels like advertising is inescapable, cropping up everywhere from public water fountains to inside fortune cookies.
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While the laws are underenforced, illegally bright billboards can still be reported to the local or state highway department. And the more that people spread awareness about the dangers they pose, the more likely it is that somebody — perhaps even a city council member — will look to enforce the laws against them.
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