Uh no. You just glance at the sign already directly in front of you for a fracton of a second to catch what the hours are. It just takes a blink of the eye. (if one does slow down slightly to make the turn when glancing at the sign, how does this lead to following too closely?)
Anyone who has difficulty doing this, the simplest of tasks, shouldn't be behind the wheel.
Surely the issue that is rectified by great big flashing lights is simply that one doesn't notice the signs ... not that the text is too small to read!