Roadside memorials

I think it's just to leave some marking at the last place they were alive. I think they do the same in England and in Japan... but I don't think it's a traditional thing either.

We have roadside memorials even in Malta. When a tragic traffic accident occurs, the victim's relatives set up a roadside memorial putting flowers plus photos. I do think that the road should not become another graveyard. I am not in favour of such memorials.

I think more and more people are getting into car accidents and more and more people want to memorialize the people they have lost where they were in the accident. I am not sure where that idea came from.

Im not sure where it came from but i have noticed this as well. some cases i agree with people putting up road side memorials especially on blind intersections and dangerous curves. I think this is the product of cemetaries not wanting flowers planted at graves any more (i know here we are not allowed to plant) and if we put plastic or fake flowers out we have 2 weeks then we are supposed to go remove them from the site or we will be charged for the removal. I dont understand it i personally think its not fair, makes me want to be burried in my back yard ohh but if only that were legal

No! This is very common here in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Even when I was young it was very popular here. It must be all the Irish coming to the states that are setting this tradition off. I think maybe at first its ok to lay flowers at the roadsides, but a grave is more appropiate in my own opinion.

I dont know the hows, whens wheres or whys to this custom but here is my opinion of it I think its actually a good thing from a drivers perspective when I drive and I see those flowered crosses along the side of the road I slow down I think about the fact that someone has lost their life driving on this road If I see several of those within a short distance I become more alert and more cautious because I cant help but think that perhaps this section of road is not that safe So if it makes drivers more aware of their surroundings maybe the highway department should put them along side of the road every so many miles

Hi Dawnald, Memorials are okay, but in the right and safe place. I really don't believe in building something on top of places where we bury our loved ones. Many will disagree with me. Lets think practically. How much longer will the body remain there? I would prefer to do things, like educate poor children, or help the poor in some way or the other with the same money in the deceased person's name. The soul is gone wherever it has to, and the body will be lost forever in no time. So what's the point of wasting money on grave stones. There are so many living people who cannot afford even a single meal a day. Excuse me mylotter if you feel offended, but I'm not going back on my opinion.

You know, I don't know anything about roadside memorials, but recently I learned that tennis shoes hanging from power lines means that a gang member was killed there. I don't know how true that it, but I was very surprised. I've seen shoes hanging many times and never really gave it a second thought except to think that some idiot got drunk and threw them up there. Turns out there may be some significance behind it.

They are everywhere here in Florida!!! I mean everywhere! I know it is Florida law that you are not supposed "decorate" them...like put a wreath on them at Christmas or balloons if it is the deceased Birthday but people still do. They don't want people to because they are afraid it will take the attention of drivers, then causing more accidents. Actually, the road I have to drive everyday I go passed one and it is for a woman that was my neighbor growing up. It is creepy if the person on one of those was actually someone you knew.

I first noticed it in another state, when I relocated there. I thought it was just something they did. There were even spots where there would be many different ones, and the thought crossed my mind that maybe it was a plea to fix certain roads. When I moved back to the state I had live in the most, I started seeing them here as well. Then when we went on roadtrips, I started seeing them everywhere! At the time, I was not watching TV or readin the newspapers at all, pretty much was just reading up on what I was actually interested in. I windered if this was a new vice for handling grief maybe depicted on dr. Phil or similar shows.

We have them in Canada too. I also wonder about where this custom started. It's a good warning system to drivers speeding by to look at the memorial by the side of the road and maybe decide to slow down a bit. I think that's the message the memorials are trying to get across. It seems to be a fairly recent custom. . .guess our life is speeding along more than it used to. A man on a pedal bike on his way to work one morning was knocked down by a big truck and killed. His friends/family spray painted his bike a ghostly white and attached it to a lamp post nearby. Looking at it gives me a shivery feeling.

I don't know where the custom originated from either, but we have them on some of our roads in Australia too. I must admit when I do see one it makes me sad and I do slow down and I am reminded not to be complacent on the road and that can't be a bad thing.

Well in high school i lossed three friends in car accidents. TWo in the same accident and one of them was pregnant. The other one in a seperate accident. We put up memorials to remind us. Everytime i drive by there i think of my friends. Also others seeing the memorial may help them be cautious with their driving.

I don't know where the idea came from, but it is a bad one. When we lived in Maryland, a flowered cross and wreath appeared at the side of the road on a main drag. There was a banner across the wreath. Three accidents later (people reading the banner and not watching the road), it was removed by authorities. The best place for remembrances are in your own home, or the cemetary or possibly a plaque in your church (if such an item is allowed). We have enough problems with people talking on cells, applying makeup, reading maps, and eating while driving. The last thing we need is the curious driver reading memory banners.

Must be some kind of a fad - I have seen that a lot lately as well. There were a couple of murders here last year because a gang member had got killed and the rival gang kept peeing on his roadside memorial - They left a sign on there that said RIP Rest In Piss - It was crazy.

I think it's just a way of paying homage to passed loved ones, and as a warning to other motorists/pedestrians about the dangers of that area as they've already claimed one life. I'm in Northern Canada, and we have them everywhere. Slippery roads, long winters and young hotheads with too much money and too little patience are all factors in this area.

This is practised here in the UK too and I can't remember them when I was a kid either. I don't really know when it started. I think it's probably family and friends of fatal accident victims showing respect to where that person was last alive. I should imagine it would help with the grief experience. :-)Derek

Like most others have responded, I don't know where this tradition started and guess it is just certain people's ways of dealing with their loss and grief. On the one hand, I do totally respect that and see it as a good thing for people to slow down. However, as you pointed out, it may also be a distraction and thus a hazard. I have seen them many times, even years ago, so I don't think it's a recent thing.

They are all around the country, but most main highways will not allow them to stay up. I've seen them removing those on the Interstates or in town. We had a man killed in our front yard, and the wife thought it was fine to put up one right at our driveway! We resented that! She doesn't even live in this area and doesn't know how bad this road is by our house. We've had many wrecks there without something getting your attention that normally would not be there. I just don't like the thought of seeing them all over the place. Let's take our flowers and things to the cemetery.

I don't know where it came from but I am tired of seeing them. Give people their roses, while they are still able to smell them. In the urban neighborhood it's ridiculous. I have seen tables in vacant lot where someone was murdered. On that table was candles, teddy bears, and bottle of alize with cups and the person picture. What's sad no one takes care of the upkeep. Dirty teddy bears tied to telephone pools forever. I would like who started this trend.