26/07/2005

Spot the difference could have been spot the accident

Motorists may have 'spotted the difference' after a distracting billboard was removed from Otorohanga.
The removal came after Otorohanga District Council and Transit NZ both received complaints regarding the Vodafone Warriors billboard, which was situated along Main North Rd.
Featuring two cartoons, upside down text and instructing viewers to 'spot the difference,' concerned parties believed the billboard was distracting for motorists and potentially dangerous.
The issue was discussed at a community board meeting on July 11, with environmental services manager Julie Mead-Rose informing members she had contacted with the billboard owners asking the advertisement be removed.
She said the billboard did not comply with several of the council's regulations, including the fact there were too much text featured.
Mrs Mead-Rose said : t also appeared that the text did not meet the required minimum size.
Mayor Dale Williams said his initial thoughts when he first saw the billboard was that it was distracting for motorists.
"I was amazed When I first saw the billboard. If you truly wanted to read it and absorb it you would crash into Otorohanga walls," he said.