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A resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan, took to Reddit to complain about a local truck that is causing a stir with its controversial features.
Posting in the r/AnnArbor subreddit, the user shared a photo of a truck parked outside a church on State Street, featuring electronic signs advertising a local apartment complex.
"Saw this truck on state steet parked infront of the church," they said. "Honestly was very bright and distracting while driving. I dont understand how this is allowed considering that there are limits on how bright storefronts can be and especially when there are tons of students crossing the road here."
These sorts of billboards are becoming more and more common around the world, as LED displays become cheaper and easier to install in a variety of places. By mounting them on trucks, they give ad companies the ability to market products and services to people all over cities, and they can easily be changed without the massive amounts of labor required by traditional billboards.
However, that ease of use comes with an additional twofold environmental cost. First, powering the billboard takes energy, and that energy likely comes from dirty sources like oil and gas. The energy required to drive the billboard around town almost certainly comes from a gas-powered combustion engine vehicle, which is pumping more pollution into the atmosphere.
But that's not the only way these signs harm the environment or the people around them. They are bright enough that they can cause a distraction for other drivers on the road, particularly at night, and contribute immensely to the growing issue of light pollution in our society. Light pollution can impact our circadian rhythms, impact our natural melatonin production, and lead to headaches, stress, anxiety, and has even been linked to cancer, according to National Geographic.
Commenters were quick to pile on the truck's ad campaign.
"If someone would do something to discourage that, it would rock," one said.
"These and all billboards should be illegal," said another.
"Oopsie I tripped and dropped my bag of broken spark plugs at high velocity towards this advertisement vehicle," joked a third.
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