Roadside Memorial © Steven Willard
I have no idea how many roadside memorials I’ve passed in my travels. I’m seventy-two years old, and I’ve driven all over America, and some foreign countries too, so the number must be pretty high. Some were probably too small to notice while traveling at highway speeds, others such as this one, certainly caught my eye. Some clearly mark scenes where accidents took place, dangerous curves or poorly marked intersections. Others are placed on perfectly straight highways, begging the question of how someone managed to run off the road. I rarely stop, they appear too suddenly unless it is on a section of road I travel frequently. I don’t think the mourners expect us to, it’s something more personal than that, or perhaps more desperate. A cry for people to notice that a friend, or child, has been take away from them. It’s something for us to think about, at least for a few miles.
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I have never quite understood roadside memorials marking where a loved one died. Remembering where someone met there death seems contrary to how I would want there memory preserved; personally, I would much rather a mark or something where I lived and enjoyed my life – a bench or something in a spot that I visited often would, in my opinion, say something more than a few flowers on a verge.
Ghost bikes are slightly different, they are as much a warning to road users as a memorial to the person who died.
Nice image though Steven
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I can understand your point. Thanks for your comment.
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poignant
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Excellent image and post Steven. I have seen a number of these in my travels also. I think it’s like you mentioned for personal remembrance by the families rather than other motorists. Your commentary definitely gives us some food for thought. Awesome work.
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Thanks , Joe. Once you notice them it’s hard not see them.
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In the UK we see lots of roadside memorials but also ‘Ghost Bikes’. They are bicycles painted white and placed on the roadside where a cyclist has been killed. They are a powerful visual reminder for motorists to drive with an awareness of people on two wheels. Best wishes, Mr C
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Sad, but I kind of like that. Thanks
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