Driver sparks outrage with photo of obnoxious scene on local street: 'This should be illegal'

A new advertising strategy seen on city streets is sparking anger online. A post on Reddit's r/Anticonsumption community recently captured photos of a truck equipped with an LED screen showing advertisements. "I get so mad every time I see these," the poster wrote. "They're a huge distraction and another way that corporations are sucking up our attention."

"Totally out of control." — Photo Credit: Reddit

As many Reddit users in the thread expressed, these ad trucks epitomize attention-grabbing corporate tactics. "Lights on the back of a vehicle should have the purpose of making driving safer," one commenter wrote. "This should be illegal, if it's not."

LED "billboard" trucks just add to the constant barrage of advertising people encounter daily. Beyond being a distracting nuisance in traffic, they encourage us to buy more and more stuff — most of which we don't even need.

Not only does excessive consumption drive up the daily cost of living for everyone, but it also fuels pollution by increasing the demand for manufacturing new products. And with a common "throwaway" mentality, many of the items we buy are tossed out within 6 months, according to The World Counts. That just piles up in already-crowded landfills, contributing to heat-trapping pollution and microplastics.

Luckily, there are some clever solutions for getting out of this wasteful cycle. Buy Nothing groups allow people to exchange goods and services for free. This reduces the need to manufacture new products, and it helps people save money. Thrifting is another excellent way to save on everyday items while reducing waste and keeping it out of landfills.

The post drew many responses from frustrated viewers.

"These things are even worse after it gets dark, they can absolutely blind you. It's crazy to think they somehow made advertising even worse, now it's actively hauled around by a gas guzzler," one commenter wrote.

Another added, "And a … QR code to scan while you're driving, epic."

A third user said: "Ads are totally out of control."