Rubbernecking is a major cause of roadway gridlock, it can bring several lanes of traffic to a standstill even when an accident is only blocking a single lane.

Because drivers are looking at the crashsite anyway billboards featuring commercial propaganda or advertising should be set up to block the wreckage. This will generate revenue for the municipality and also, hopefully, reduce rubbernecking. People will no longer get their daily dose of excitement from seeing some other poor sole's misfortune, and will also be sick of seeing the ad's that are placed on the screens.

Advertising could feature drinking and driving campaigns, non-skid tires, tune-ups, brake inspections, and any other saleable good or service or government or non-government campaign.
-- ImBack, Jan 17 2003

Anti-Gawker shield http://www.halfbake...nti-Gawker_20shield
So you want to print advertisements on this? (idea by [IBBen]) [krelnik, Oct 04 2004]

How do they get the billboards to the crash site before they remove the wreckage? I can just see the ambulance not being able to get on the road because of trucks delivering billboards...

Or have I mis-read this?
-- snarfyguy, Jan 17 2003


uhhh.. people are already distracted by the crash. The point of this is people are distracted anyway.

Crash-site screens already exist. You can't visualize something that already exists?
-- ImBack, Jan 17 2003


Seems like this is just a slight modification of "Anti-Gawker shield" (see link). [Moderators: the linked idea really ought to be moved from "product: fence" to this category].
-- krelnik, Jan 17 2003


Since, as you point out, "drivers are looking at the crashsite anyway", the billboards should not be brought in to "block the wreckage", but instead should be mounted on highly mobile rapid deployment vehicles tuned to the local highway patrol and emergency services frequencies so that they can be quickly swooped into place as a backdrop to the carnage. That's the way to get maximum viewing opportunities for the advertiser.
-- jurist, Jan 18 2003


That's what I thought (s)he meant. I just couldn't grasp the logistics of installing billboards at a crash site while emergency medical crews were doing their thing.
-- snarfyguy, Jan 18 2003


an electric rail running alongside the roads - a bit like the track that the rabbit runs along in dog racing could pull a screen along pretty fast. it would not have to be that substantial just a flimsy curtain like the screens around a bed in a hospital. shut up po, you are waffling.
-- po, Jan 18 2003


Ohh that's a good idea [po]! Perhaps we could also install some sort of "smart chip" in it that would make it really want to advertise. Then it could decide to *cause* accidents once in a while in order to fulfill its mission. Hee!
-- snarfyguy, Jan 18 2003


You people! Cant you figure out why its not done? Claws
-- Claws, May 16 2003



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