Our Weekly Tip: Set Up a Roadside Memorial to Honor A Loved One Who Died in a Crash

Our Tip of the Week: If your loved one has died in a car crash, especially if the crash occurred along a dangerous stretch of road, you may wish to set up a roadside memorial to honor them. Setting up a memorial is relatively easy if you get friends and family to help out.

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How-to suggestion: The first thing you need to do is ask the police or the highway patrol if roadside memorials are legal in your state. In some places they are not. You may be able to get around this regulation by putting up your memorial in the front yard of your house.

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Next you need to decide on the items you want to include. Your memorial may be a simple strong statement like a floral heart or it can be a profuse bunch of flowers combined with meaningful items. Most roadside memorials have at least one or two pictures of the loved one along with his or her name and dates of birth and death. Christian families often display a cross or a religious medal. Other items may include jewelry, articles of clothing, and favorite books and albums. Roadside memorials for children and infants generally include favorite toys, dolls, and stuffed animals.

One word of caution: don’t place items at the memorial site that you couldn’t bear to lose. The items at a roadside memorial can get lost or stolen easily. They also may be thrown away by law enforcement if they are placed in a spot illegally.