Roadside Memorial Wiki

Thanks for the feedback Mark. Your Black-Spot marker reminder is good and would be a useful addition to the Wiki. Once recorded on the Wiki, the memorial would be there for perpetuity online which might negate and supplant the need for the actual roadside memorial.

Both situations apply. It all depends upon whether the paramedics get there and transport them away before they expire.

I would be happy to see these memorials to be outlawed. They create distractions, particularly when they grow to being more than a simple cross. The main roads have banned commercial billboards from being erected on main road lands simply because of the distractions they cause. It's about time they do the same with these monuments.

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Duncan, the emotions that placed the memorials decay with time. Unfortunately, so do the memorials.
As a result, they rarely get maintained or removed.

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Ron, thanks for the 'thumbs-up' and, although I may agree with you, I am not game enough to voice it.

I can understand why bereaved rellies want to place memorials. It's part of the grieving process and characteristic of our society. Fortunately, they are generally not constructed of durable materials and decay with time or the actions of road-builders. Bless 'em.

What I disagree with is Exuberan's notion of enhancement. It's acceptable as it is. No need to escalate it into yet another societal tradition.

Many years ago I thought some sort of indication that an accident or accidents had occured on a stretch of road would be a good bit of feedback for drivers to be cautious. Was a great idea at the time but memorials are not what I had in mind. So, - No to the memorials!
I still think drivers today have too little understanding of what causes many accidents because we hear of multi vehicle pile ups, lone rollovers, ete etc but no follow up of the actual cause, eg avoiding animal, failure of component, tailgating and so on. Some are painfully obvious but it still little to deter ratbags from being impatient idiots and causing accidents...maybe this will fix them

https://www.betootaadvocate.com/uncategorized/vehicles-of-convicted-hoons-to-be-retrofitted-with-takata-airbags-to-encourage-safer-driving/

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Yes Kerry, gazing at memorials whilst powering into the rear of another vehicle is not a good way to lower the road toll.
I appreciate Exuberan for his (her) compassion but not for safety.
I understand that the publication of accident causes is restricted for legal reasons as it may predjudice prosecution.

Kerry, thanks for the link to the Betoota Advocate satirical article, that's a pretty clever piece of satire, and good for a chuckle.

However, I personally believe Australia's road toll can be directly linked to a pretty poor level of driver skills training - and training upkeep.
Way too many drivers seem to have missed even basic road rules training, when they got their licences.

I constantly come across drivers who have no idea of how to keep control of their vehicle when they encounter adverse circumstances.
The number of wrecked caravans and campers that turn in auction salvage sales is substantial - and I have no doubt there are many that don't even make to the salvage yard, they are simply taken to the local tip.

I believe we need additional training for people with limited driving experience and skills, who want to hook up large 'vans and tow big campers.
I believe we need high speed dirt/gravel road training for anyone who decides to venture into rural and remote regions.

But most importantly, I believe we all need to have regular driving tests to ensure we haven't become complacent and that our driving habits are not becoming degraded.

You know how it develops - you get familiar with an intersection and start to roll through the stop sign with just a cursory look - "because no-one uses this road much, anyway!"
Then the habits degrade to the point where you no longer look as carefully for approaching hazards as you did 30 years ago.
It's a slippery slope, and it takes discipline to continually enforce a high standard of driving skills.

Re the accident causes, all fatal accidents are investigated to the nth degree and the causes are recorded. But the information specific to the accident is not made publically available, as Allan points out, due to legal restraints.
The other point is, that the authorities have decided that releasing the precise reasons behind every crash is not as beneficial as aggregating the causes of accidents into Road Safety drives which target particular accident causes, that are showing up as a concerning trend.

Cheers, Ron.

Yes Ron, a lot of driving instructors teach you how to get your license, not how to drive.

Macca.

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A licence is all they want Macca.

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I don't think so Exuberan. We are all different.
I cherish and celebrate my passed rellies and friends in the places where they lived and played..... not where they died.
I'll pass on the proposed website thanks.

Exuberan - I understand where you're coming from - I lost a brother in the prime of his life, killed instantly by a drunk in a truck who ran into him head-on, full on the brothers side of the road.
The brother was newly married, with his young wife and baby girl in the ute. His wife was disfigured for life, but somehow his baby girl escaped unscathed.

What added anger to our grief was seeing the truck driver employ the best QC in the State, who ensured the truck driver had his manslaughter charges dismissed, thanks to the QC claiming there was no case to answer, as there were no witnesses.

I don't know how many witnesses the judge expected at 10 o'clock at night on a lonely country road.
The truck driver never even received a fine, despite the huge amount of good work by the local copper, who presented all the evidence of the trucks LHF wheel being 18 inches on the RHS of the road centreline at the point of impact.

However, despite regularly driving past the point where my brother was killed, I have never had any desire to place a memorial at that spot. He has a well-maintained grave and fine headstone in a nearby town cemetery.

What I would like to point out, and which you need to do on your website, is that there are defined policies put in place by local and Govt authorities, for roadside memorials.

I can't speak for the other States - but I'd imagine they follow W.A.'s policies to varying degrees.
Main Roads W.A. (MRWA) controls all the main highways and arterial roads in W.A., and MRWA has a 16 page policy document outlining their attitude and requirements with regards to roadside memorials.

Roadside memorials are not banned outright, but all aspects of their installation in W.A. are controlled by the roads authorities.

The Roadside Memorials policy has been developed with a degree of consideration for the grief of relatives of those lost in road accidents - but it is also balanced by the over-riding requirement that MRWA is in control of highway and arterial road design, construction, public road safety, and ensuring that road hazards are minimised or clearly marked.

Every local council authority in W.A. follows a similar policy as MRWA, for "local roads" that are under the control of that particular council, and you would be well advised to point out on your website, that before anyone installs a roadside memorial, they must follow the road authoritys policies on roadside memorials and preferably consult with the MRWA or the Council, prior to installing any roadside memorial.

https://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/globalassets/technical-commercial/contracting-to-main-roads/contractor-forms-reports/roadside-memorials-policy-and-guidelines.pdf

People installing roadside memorials should also be aware that these memorials produce very strong opinions amongst road users - with at least one angry individual here in W.A., on a mission to remove every one that he sees, which memorials apparently offends him greatly.

https://www.mandurahmail.com.au/story/6115343/i-will-continue-mandurah-cross-kicker-takes-responsibility-for-damaging-roadside-memorials/

Cheers, Ron.

Appreciate your well written and very informative response Ron. I too hail from WA and was not aware of the Main Roads rules and protocols. I also lost a brother, but not to a road accident. My brother suicided in remote bushland and I clearly recall wanting to the 'Mark the spot' where he was found. He was a Doctor of Medicine who self prescribed a clever concoction of drugs to end his life. This occurred 35 years ago. A small rock cairn still exists at the location where he was found.
Anyone wanting to remove or deface such memorials simply because they are offended obviously has a few screws loose
Also anyone distracted by these memorials needs to concentrate more on their driving, one wonders what they would be like when passing a pretty young lady in a short skirt! Some contributors to this thread would perhaps insist that the distracting young lady also be removed. How do these contributors feel when they drive past a cemetry?

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Exuberan,

To suggest that a person may have "a few screws loose" because they disagree with your beliefs and proposals is indeed disrespectful.

You are also being foolish to contemplate other people's driving behaviour to a putative situation.

You asked for "more input" to your proposal but then deningrated the responses! Maybe not a good way to engender support?

'People installing roadside memorials should also be aware that these memorials produce very strong opinions amongst road users - with at least one angry individual here in W.A., on a mission to remove every one that he sees, which memorials apparently offends him greatly'.

Alan, The screw loose comment was directed at the person described above which I think you will agree is not normal behaviour. Not normal behavour = Screw Loose

My original article never referred to the so called distractive aspect of roadside memorials, that is your doing. I would have thought that the response from Ron was superb input unlike anything from yourself. You are the one being denigrative to call a fellow member 'Foolish'
Perhaps you should keep your negative feelings to yourself and use your reading glasses next time

Exuberan,

Your comment regarding “How do people feel when driving past a cemetery”, really has no bearing. A cemetery is where you expect to find memorials, and the majority of people would not even think twice about driving past a cemetery and it is highly unlikely to be a distraction. A “roadside memorial” placed by individuals is a totally different thing.

On another note, if you don’t like the answers, don’t ask for opinions from others.

Macca.

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Ah yes Exuberan, I see where you are coming from and I will be more careful with my syntax should I be motivated to respond to you in the future.

Regards,
Allan (with two "l"'s actually)

Point taken gentlemen, thankyou for your input

Macca, in W.A., the MRWA and Local Govt authorities will only approve a roadside memorial, if the crash involved a fatality.

Cheers, Ron.