Mississippi lawmakers made texting and driving illegal last summer, suggesting the tiny screens that are practically glued to our hands are simply too distracting for motorists.

City of Natchez leaders will soon face a question of whether enormous screens — whose very purpose is to attract the eyeballs of motorists — should be allowed in the city.

Digital billboards have been around in larger communities for years. The out-of-town companies that make money off the billboards want permission to legally erect them in Natchez soon.

We hope city leaders will consider the risk-reward for allowing what are effectively huge, glowing cell phone screens in the sky.

Just because “everybody else has them” doesn’t mean the digital billboards are necessary — or even wanted — here.

The billboards are simply too new for there to be good, reliable data on their effects on drivers.

No study yet exists to show the digital billboards directly cause more traffic accidents.

But logically, enormous glowing screens with changing imagery will compete for the attention of motorists and to purposefully add distracting items to roadways simply doesn’t make good sense.

We urge city leaders to recognize the overly distracting nature of these billboards and simply say, “no thanks,” to the businesses seeking to make a buck while distracting drivers with potentially deadly results.