Driver shares photo after spotting obnoxious vehicle on highway: 'How is that not illegal?'

Have you ever driven past an LED billboard on the side of the road that was so bright, it made you shield your eyes? While that can certainly be considered a massive safety hazard for drivers, a recent trend of advertisements has become the focus of a legal debate online. 

While posting to r/mildlyinteresting, one Redditor shared a photo of a box truck that was equipped with LED screens on every side. At night, the truck appeared to create a whole new set of challenges for any driver on the road.   

"How is that not illegal?" one user asked in the comment section. "The brake lights should be the brightest thing on the back of a vehicle while it's moving forward."

Despite its ability to become a major distraction to drivers, mobile LED truck advertising is generally considered to be legal across the country. However, some of these trucks may be regulated at the local level. In most cases, these regulations often limit LED brightness at night and speaker volume to ensure comfort and safety for drivers and pedestrians.

As another commenter pointed out, the picture included in the original post could potentially be a bit misleading. 

"This is a low light photo with a cell phone. The light is blowing out the sensor and overexposing the shot. It's not a bright white light ... I doubt it's any brighter than a taillamp irl," the commenter noted. "Still should be illegal, just because its content is distracting." 

Regardless of legality, many drivers consider mobile LED advertisements to be just another contributor to the seemingly growing amount of light pollution in today's world. Not only has light pollution been noted to disrupt our internal clocks, but the intense glare from bright lights, especially blue-rich LEDs, can actually impact visual acuity.

"I think that would be very distracting to most! Lots [of] drivers would end up gawking at the billboard and it would only be more of a reason for them not to pay attention on the road," a third commenter wrote.

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