The definition of death, “is the permanent end of the life of a biological organism”. Yet to most people death is a little more complicated than that. I began to think about death and mourning after I read the articles, “Roadside Memorials”. Although I am fortunate enough to never have personally grieved about a death related to a car accident, I do know people that have been permanently affected by these situations. In my hometown a group of kids that went to my high school were involved in a car accident, and one out of the four kids died.
It was the summer and they had all just graduated from the high school that I attended. They were preparing to head off to college, and it seemed that they had their whole lives in front of them. One of the girls was driving one night, after they had been drinking and doing drugs. The girl that was driving the car was the only one with a seat belt. It was late at night and they were driving on a curvy, narrow, and unlit road, when the driver swerved off the road and collided with a tree. The driver is the only one that died. The other three were severely injured, but survived.
This incident completely took my community by surprise. In the following days a memorial was put up to honor her death and the accident that took place there. A huge white cross was placed next to the tree where the car had collided, while pictures, flowers, cars, posters, banners, etc. surrounded the trunk of the tree. I never realized the other side of the argument about roadside memorials till I read this article. I can see the opposing side to the argument, but at the same time how do you tell someone that they are not allowed to put up a memorial of their loved one. I know that if someone I loved died in a car accident, I would immediately put up a memorial to honor them, where the accident occurred. And if someone told me that I had to take it down, I would probably be really offended. Yet from the opposing side if I had no relationship to the person that died, I can see how these memorials actually have an adverse effect on drivers. When the girl in my hometown died, I would constantly drive past her memorial. I would slow down and look at the latest items people had left or the signs people had made. I did not realize it then, but by doing that I could have potentially gotten into an accident myself. When I was driving I was more focused on the signs than I was on the road. I slowed down to get a better look, but I did not realize that I was putting myself and other cars in danger.
In the article it brought up a valid argument about how roadside memorials can actually be beneficial by showing, “people what can happen when you drink and do drugs and don’t pay attention to the road signs”. In the case of the girl from my high school her actions were impaired my alcohol and drugs. And although what happened was an awful incident, I think that it served as a wakeup call for of my peers. It really shocked my community, and sent a clear signal to everyone that attended my high school, that doing drugs and drinking alcohol is stupid.
Although I do not know the right answer to this controversy, I think that roadside memorials are extremely sensitive topics, and I believe that state officials need to deal with these memorials with great care. I think that no matter what state officials decide to do with these roadside memorials, they need to first tell the families, and make them aware of their decisions. Car accidents are extremely common, and although it is necessary to grieve, it is also important to think about the safety of the people in the community.
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