Roadside memorials

[BuddyLee]

I just feel that it is the cemetary which is the proper place for memorials. That is their purpose....

Putting memorials on the roadsides, is not to "warn" others, or to teach a lessons to others, it is put their for the sole benefit of the loved ones left behind. Let's be honest about this....

Nothing has positive externalities?

 

[Railroad]

Nothing has positive externalities?

I've heard that it does, but then somebody told me it was a lot of fuss about nothing.

 

[mudpuddle]

When you think about it, on a simple level, why does the world need to know that "you" have lost a loved one at that spot? Memorials are for friends and families of the deceased. Not for the common person, who happens to pass by...by whatever means....

 

[BuddyLee]

When you think about it, on a simple level, why does the world need to know that "you" have lost a loved one at that spot? Memorials are for friends and families of the deceased. Not for the common person, who happens to pass by...by whatever means....

I don't know guys, I hate being the devil's advocate here.

I think we have awful attention spans and I wonder if we're actually learning or just driving by all the events which surround our lives everyday. If you're one of those who say "everything has a purpose or reason" then what does death mean to you? For me, partly, it means learning something. If it was an accident then there is something to be taken from that and learned from. I don't think you can reach the general public just by a simple word of mouth, I think you need to constantly remind them with a sledgehammer over the head just to gain an inkling of full-attention.

I can agree that some of these are outrageous.

 

[oldman]

I don't know guys, I hate being the devil's advocate here.

I think we have awful attention spans and I wonder if we're actually learning or just driving by all the events which surround our lives everyday. If you're one of those who say "everything has a purpose or reason" then what does death mean to you? For me, partly, it means learning something. If it was an accident then there is something to be taken from that and learned from. I don't think you can reach the general public just by a simple word of mouth, I think you need to constantly remind them with a sledgehammer over the head just to gain an inkling of full-attention.

I can agree that some of these are outrageous.

Sorry, but I cannot agree. Accidents have occurred since horse and buggy days and since autos have been. Anyone that has been alive is aware of them and does not need a roadside reminder. Perhaps not a popular opinion, but when I see one on a road my initial thought is driver error. Grave yards are where people are buried and where dedicated people should go to to pay their respects. I am not hard hearted either as there are two memorials within 3 miles of me. IMO, you see them one day and say a prayer and then just wonder why they are still there 3 years later.

 

[Laurel]

...I have noticed numerous memorials here in SOMD, many more than anywhere else. Is this a SOMD thing? I have seen a few around the country but not the number there are here.

Unfortunately, it is NOT just a SoMD thing. Roadside memorials trash up many parts of this state, as well as other states. Some states specifically outlaw them outright (CO, MA, WI). Some tolerate them with some caveats (WV, DE), but most states have laws - like MD - which makes it illegal to 1) erect private signs on state rights-of-way, and 2) to abandon property on rights-of-way.

Also unfortunately, MD is like a lot of other states in which the DOT looks the other way or has a "policy" which says that they don't clean up this particular form of roadside litter. How a state agency can have a "policy" which has no lawful authority, is beyond me. By law, MD DOT is charged with maintaining (including cleaning) the state's roads. By law, it is illegal to litter on the state's roads. By law, any private property left on the side of the road is considered "abandoned property", and becomes (legally) trash. So, how then can the agency "officially" say they are not going to enforce their lawful mandate and clean up this trash?

Understandably, this is an emotional issue. But people like me, who have lost a family member in a roadside accident, don't neccesarily agree that there is ANY justification to these small-minded people who think they can appropriate a piece of public property for their own personal use just because someone they were related to died there. It's just not an appropriate place to build a private memorial. That's what your own property and graveyards are for. Try setting up a memorial in the parking lot of Wal-Mart where your uncle died of a heart attack, and the Boys from Bensonville will have you in court on trespassing and possibly destruction of private property charges.

 

[Dixie]

Unfortunately, it is NOT just a SoMD thing. Roadside memorials trash up many parts of this state, as well as other states. Some states specifically outlaw them outright (CO, MA, WI). Some tolerate them with some caveats (WV, DE), but most states have laws - like MD - which makes it illegal to 1) erect private signs on state rights-of-way, and 2) to abandon property on rights-of-way.

Also unfortunately, MD is like a lot of other states in which the DOT looks the other way or has a "policy" which says that they don't clean up this particular form of roadside litter. How a state agency can have a "policy" which has no lawful authority, is beyond me. By law, MD DOT is charged with maintaining (including cleaning) the state's roads. By law, it is illegal to litter on the state's roads. By law, any private property left on the side of the road is considered "abandoned property", and becomes (legally) trash. So, how then can the agency "officially" say they are not going to enforce their lawful mandate and clean up this trash?

Understandably, this is an emotional issue. But people like me, who have lost a family member in a roadside accident, don't neccesarily agree that there is ANY justification to these small-minded people who think they can appropriate a piece of public property for their own personal use just because someone they were related to died there. It's just not an appropriate place to build a private memorial. That's what your own property and graveyards are for. Try setting up a memorial in the parking lot of Wal-Mart where your uncle died of a heart attack, and the Boys from Bensonville will have you in court on trespassing and possibly destruction of private property charges.

Okay - what brought this up again and who are the Boys from Bensonville?

 

[Merlin99]

Okay - what brought this up again and who are the Boys from Bensonville?

Bentonville Arkansas, home of Wal-Mart

 

[Dixie]

Bentonville Arkansas, home of Wal-Mart

thank you for clarifying

 

[sockgirl77]

I guess that people need to grieve in different ways. People who just think that it's an eyesore instead of a memorial have never lost a loved one in an accident. I have lost several. I did put flowers down at the cite. I didn't do the balloons and teddy bears b/c they were guys and it wouldn't seem fit. I do agree that balloons are meant for birthdays and joyous occasions. I only put flowers down at the cite until they had gravestones. Now I visit them there. To those who asked if we wanted to remember them by seeing the flowers on the road: Everytime that I pass by that certain cite on Indian Bridge Road my heart skips a beat. I don't need to flowers down to remember so I don't think that having flowers there would matter. Bad memories are there to stay. All that I am asking to those who are posting is please have a little compassion for those who have had to deal with this. You'd never understand it until you've had to go through it.

Nupe, I think this was my first post.

 

[awpitt]

Neither did I - that's why I asked. But I've lived most of my adult life in Maryland so I wouldn't know about other states. My Mom acted like she'd never seen one before, either, so maybe they don't do that in Nebraska?

When my grandson way killed in SC, the idea of a roadside memorial never cam up. I never noticed these memorials until I moved to SoMD in 1988. I grew up in Washington County and don’t remember seeing a bunch of memorials at that time. If loved ones want to set up a roadside memorial, I could see it staying up for a week or maybe even a month but after that, it should be removed.

 

[beamher]

i'm not on either side;they're noticeable very frequently in the d.c. metro area. some just look so unkept on the side of the road/tied to the tree