White bikes mark death blackspots - "Wrecked bicycles painted white like skeletons, are turning up at traffic blackspots in the American heartlands. So called “ghost bikes” are a spontaneous campaign in car-obsessed America to commemorate killed cyclists and urge drivers to be aware of the pedal pushers. ”It’s eerie, seeing this bike where somebody was struck down” Carmella Rihn of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania said. She lost lost her husband when his bike was mown down by a driver fiddling with her air-conditioning controls.” It will make drivers think”.
“Car accidents make the news but bike accidents never do,” Brad Quartuccio, 25 of Dirt Rag magazine, said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 662 people died in 2002 in cycling accidents.
The “ghost bike” campaign is the idea of Patrick van der Tuin, a student from St,Louis, Missouri, who has been knocked off his bike three times. Since last autumn, he and his friends have placed 20 buckled white bicycles at accident black spots in St.Louis.
As word spread, cycle lovers elsewhere began erecting their roadside memorials.
Last month Kevin Cronin placed ten bikes around Cleveland for National Bike Month, and Mr. Quartuccio placed 14 around Pittsburgh. “If the bike is all crushed up and covered in white, tyres and everything, it really pops out” he said. “ It makes an impact”.
Its a really nice idea. I've not heard of it before, but here in Ireland people tend to maintain little informal monuments to road deaths with bouquets and little plaques. I regularly pass two commemorating recent car and truck victims. I like the idea of a memorial that will force the local authority to remove it (as eventually they would have to), as it would be a small way of ensuring they have to acknowledge their role - at least one of the recent cycling deaths in my area can be directly attributed to a junction layout design that didn't reflect the needs of cyclists.
By coincindence, there is a very thoughtful piece in todays Guardian about memorials. Not directly relevent, but thought provoking.
My main concern about memorials like this though is that people driving past them won't think:
'oh, how terrible, we must all drive more carefully', they'll think:
'oh, cycling is so dangerous, I'll definitely not let my kids do it'.
Um, hate to kill the idea, but apparently according to an interview with the Idaho Dept. of Transportation, road side memorials are illegal in Boise, Idaho (perhaps all of ID). Yes, that's right. Roadside memorials are an endangerment to vehicle drivers. Cell phones? No. Eating? No. Loud radios? No. Roadside memorials? Yes. Oh but this is the greatest country in the world I've heard. Gag me with a spoon.
White crosses were put up along roadside in NZ from untold years ago. After a few years the Transport Dpt. wallies decided they were illegal. Were too many it seemed. Had a few their reasons, but probably embarrassing too many were appearing at places they had badly designed roads. The mainly same type places. Whatever. Public out cry. A few months later they backed down, they put back most of the crosses, and now they continue to appear. Statistically there has apparently been a slight decrease in crashes in a few marked places.
Hobo, you've been listening to the wrong people.
i've seen ghost bikes in NYC (actually, there are many of them there) and the city in the states that i live in, austin, texas. i think it's catching on across the country. like wil'fire!! -skot!
Had the experience of a recent memorial ride in NYC in January. About 200 dedicated riders went from one ghost bike to the next in honor of the fallen cyclists. I think a note on a recent trajedy on the West Side "bike path" was LOVE AND RAGE, killed by a drunk driver on a bike only path. You see NYC does honor cyclists cause Bloomberg was embarrassed by them during the republican convention. Sorry, no politics, but a great cycling community. Check out TRANSALT.ORG
I typoed an important missed word on last reply DOES NOT HONOR cyclists just talk, no enforcement
There was one on a highway near me, Rt 70 in Burlington County NJ....it was impossible to miss, I drove by it many times, but I never could read the sign with it. After a few months, someone took it down. I finally went online to see what it was all about. This particular bike was for a cyclist who was hit and killed by an under the influence driver.
While I of course have great sympathy for the person killed, I can tell you from experience that even in areas where there is plenty of shoulder for cyclists, they seem to rather be out in the road, and ride along oblivious to the traffic, as if they are the only one's on the road. I have even had them veer right in front of me, without looking behind them to see if there are any cars. I am sure that some are killed thru no fault of their own, but cyclists should realize that they are not the only one's using our roads and highways, and take some personal responsibility for their own safety.
Quote:
Um, hate to kill the idea, but apparently according to an interview with the Idaho Dept. of Transportation, road side memorials are illegal in Boise, Idaho (perhaps all of ID). Yes, that's right. Roadside memorials are an endangerment to vehicle drivers. Cell phones? No. Eating? No. Loud radios? No. Roadside memorials? Yes. Oh but this is the greatest country in the world I've heard. Gag me with a spoon.
travelinhobo - no need to insult your country here. Using a cell phone while driving IS illegal in most states, and officers regularly write tickets for it. And a person CAN be pulled over and cited for eating, applying makeup, etc while driving. Perhaps you should try actually living in some other countries before you make statements so negative about this one. There are countries where you can run someone over with your car and there are NO consequences.
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