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Don't cheapen Amber Alerts

The Bakersfield Californian | Tuesday, Oct 7 2008 6:51 PM

Last Updated: Tuesday, Oct 7 2008 6:52 PM

The state's financial situation is a mess, but Californians can't be this bad off.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to post advertisements on California's 674 electronic freeway boards used for Amber Alerts and other emergencies.

The same governor who just signed legislation making it illegal for drivers to text-message from behind the wheel now endorses pelting us with colorful digital freeway distractions.

State officials say California's cash-strapped highway fund could make millions from the arrangement. It probably can. But the potential revenue is not worth the risk of encouraging drivers to take their eyes off the bumper that's 10 or 20 feet in front of them.

Roadside advertisements would contribute to visual blight, too -- a further trashing of public space.

The main reason Schwarzenegger should scuttle the idea is even more basic: It will detract from the signs' primary purpose.

If drivers get accustomed to seeing ads coming at them, they're likely to tune them out. Drivers might fail to take notice when information about a child's kidnapping is posted. Crucial information could go unnoticed and unheeded.

There's also the "tacky" factor. Maybe, as one opponent recently said, the next logical step would be to sell ad space on the state Capitol.

What's troubling is that state Sen. George Runner, R-Lancaster, who wrote the bill creating California's Amber Alert system, supports the idea. So does -- at least tentatively -- Will Kempton, director of the California Department of Transportation.

The idea has one benefit, aside from revenue creation. The company that wins the bid to produce the ads would have to replace the old signs with new video screens at no cost to the state. That would make the Amber Alert messages more readable, and make it possible to show the make and model of a suspect car, not merely describe it.

But if few drivers are looking in the first place, what's the benefit?