Road Trip! Safety First for Holiday Travelers

Let us be among the first to wish you a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving. 

A couple weeks ago, we posted about using your displays for Community Reminders such as checking your smoke detectors.  With the holiday season quickly approaching and gas prices plummeting, we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to help you help others travel safely.

Not only do we see increased travel from Thanksgiving through the New Year with people going on vacation and visiting family, but we also start to see more inclement weather and unsafe driving conditions due to winter setting in.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that an increase in the number of drivers on the road mixed with icy, snow-covered roads can potentially lead to disaster.

For those of you staying put:

Owning a display is a proven way to increase your profits, but it also gives you influence over those reading it.  By gaining their attention you can turn passersby into customers, which is great!

But as a wise man once said “With great power comes great responsibility.”  You can also use your influence to remind drivers to slow down, drive with caution, and watch out for children and other pedestrians.  A simple 2-second message could prevent someone from driving drunk or remind someone to buckle up.  You have the power!

Remember… less is more.

We create our content to convey the key message in under 2 seconds. That’s our standard because we support the guidelines set forth by the federal highway administration.  They state they do not want drivers taking their eyes off the road for more than two seconds. We accomplish our goal by creating content that uses a really strong graphic and very concise text.

You can see in the examples above that the one on the left is ineffective because it has too many elements and colors, and too much information for someone to read as they pass by. In contrast, the example on the right is far more effective because the most important element (the seat belt) is big and bright and supports the message. Also, the color contrast is effective and the message is short and concise.

Trainer Tip:  If you own a GalaxyPro, GPC, GP3, GP4, or DVX display, then you also have the ability to post Winter Weather Alerts and Warnings on your display by using RSS Feeds. I don’t know about you, but  if I was driving into a storm, I would appreciate a heads-up!

Click the  link below to view a Knowledge Base article with step-by-step instructions for creating feeds in Venus 1500 V4.

How do I create a Feed in Venus 1500 V4.20?

For our fellow travelers:

For those of you who will be hitting the road this holiday season, we have some tips for you to keep yourself and your family safe during your travels.  First, keep your eye out for the messages we talked about earlier from other display owners to help you out on your road trip!

Second, check out the list of tips we compiled for you before you pull out of your driveway!

1. Make sure your vehicle is in good driving condition before you leave. Get that oil change, check your tire pressure and tread, and make sure all your lights work. This is especially important for winter driving conditions.
2. Buckle up for safety! Make sure everyone else in the car is safely restrained as well.
3. Don’t strain yourself or your eyes trying to make “good time” on your trip. Drive slowly and enjoy the scenery and take plenty of breaks to stay rested and alert behind the wheel!
4. Don’t Drink and Drive! Don’t Text and Drive! Do Play “I Spy” with your family!
5. If you’ve got kids along on the trip, remind them never to talk to strangers. Go with them on bathroom breaks and give them whistles they can blow if you happen to get separated.

Like we always say, thanks for reading, and before you dig into that turkey and fall asleep in front of the football game, be sure to let us know if you have any ideas for future blog posts!

P.S.  If you liked the Seat Belt graphics above, all you have to do is open Content Studio, click the Daktronics Library dropdown found on the left side of the software under Media Library, and choose Automotive. Now click the Search button and choose between Images or Videos to get your safety message started!  Thanks again!