The late poet Ogden Nash once said, “I think that I shall never see, a billboard lovely as a tree, and if some billboards don’t soon fall, I’ll never see a tree at all.” Unfortunately, his quote is slowly becoming true, as the number of billboards and advertisements on highways and freeways grows, and the amount of nature we see lessens. Billboards should be banned, or at least diminished, on highways and freeways, due to the problems they cause. Billboards obstruct the view of nature on highways and freeways, they cause accidents by distracting drivers, and they cost people over $60,000 per year! One of the reasons why billboards and advertisements should be banned, or at least diminished, on highways and freeways is they obstruct the view of nature. Imagine a person is driving on the highway, and in the distance they see a beautiful field of California Poppies, our state flower. They want to admire them, but there is a huge billboard for McDonald’s in the way, advertising …show more content…
The cost of a billboard ranges from $50,000 to $840,000 annually, depending on the location of the billboard. (Unknown 3). Whether it is fifty thousand or eight hundred and forty thousand, these large amounts of money can be spent on useful, beneficial things like education and welfare, rather than advertising a phone company or fast food companies. Someone may ask, “Where are companies supposed to advertise, if not on billboards?” There are many places companies can advertise their products. For example, rather than distracting drivers with bright and flashy billboards, companies can advertise their products on television, in a magazine, on a flyer, etc., which cost less than a billboard does. Banning billboards on freeways and highways would leave more money for schools, welfare, and other things beneficial to our communities and