Remove Roadside Crosses

Nebraska Roadside Video

Roadside memorials have become so numerous, and so distracting and dangerous, highway officials say, that more and more states are trying to regulate them. They are macabre eyesores and dangerous distractions that invite rubbernecking and visitors to already hazardous roads. Highway officials also say the memorials frequently get in the way of road crews cutting grass or clearing snow.Besides the danger they create, when some of these crosses are planted in a concrete or other permanent foundation, those who do so are effectively making a private claim to public property through adverse possession. This runs afoul of the law. Those markers which are not permanently set are considered simply abandoned refuse and can be picked up and taken by anyone who has a mind to. Left unchecked, this practice would eventually leave the highways littered with crosses, flags, flowers, etc. Without touching on the religious nature of most of these memorials, I have already mentioned three reasons for their removal.

"For us, the memorials raise serious church-state constitutional concerns because they usually feature religious symbols and are placed on state property," said Robert R. Tiernan, a lawyer with the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wis., who successfully defended a Denver man arrested in 2001 after he removed a religious roadside memorial.

"I'm sympathetic to people who have faced this kind of grief," added Mr. Tiernan, whose 13-year-old son died after a car accident in 1981. "But the public space belongs to everyone, and I think it's important to honor that." Atheists and other non-christians find them offensive, annoying and depressing. When you do see them, remove them as soon as possible. Every day that they stand gives some motorists the impression that the State condones religious symbols being placed along the road on State property. There is nothing stopping us from taking down these religious symbols. We don't need any new laws, we need direct action.

Now, a few things should be noted here. When you are going to remove these extraneous eyesores, remember to park off the highway in a parking lot, on a side street, or well over on the shoulder. If you will have to walk far along the highway, get yourself an orange hunting vest to wear for your own safety. Be sure you are not venturing onto private property. State property usually does not extend beyond several feet from the shoulder of the road.

Lately, more and more of these crosses are being made of steel and planted in cement making them nearly impossible to remove. The usurpers of public property must be shown that we will not be deterred in righting this wrong. It's time to pull out the big guns. There are two new tools on the market that are well suited to the job. Either one can be carried in the trunk (along with safety glasses and work gloves) and will make short work of rebar, fence post, or even 4" steel bars. Just FROOGLE either of these for the best price:

Dewalt tool
DeWalt DC410KA 18V Cordless 4.5" Cut-Off Tool Kit.
Approx. $235.00 (6,500 RPM) 		Makita tool
Makita BGA452 18V Cordless 4.5" Cut-Off/Angle Grinder Kit.
Approx. $330.00 (10,000 RPM)

The Department of Transportation in your State can take one of four positions on roadside crosses:

  1. They can provide or erect them for victims' families, in which case a suit should be filed immediately.
  2. They can sanction them by law (also likely unconstitutional)
  3. They can ignore the religious memorials erected by families and not remove them.
  4. They can disapprove of them and remove them.

South Jersey Transit Authority has a policy regarding roadside memorials. It seems the South Jersey turnpike was littered with these memorials and the managing agency found it advisable to deal with the situation by removing them after a period of time.

If you live in a state that is not dealing with the issue properly, use the copy included here to inform the highway department in your area of a fair way to manage this problem.

Status of the law by State:

Other Countries:

Russia

begins to ban memorials - Officials of Chelyabinsk have started to tackle the problem of roadside memorials for car crashes` victims. A project of federal law which can count setting roadside memorials, wreaths or crosses an administrative offense has now been cut out. Deputies of the region are planning to put such memorials under a ban and eliminate the present ones. Moreover, Chelyabinsk`s authorities would like to spread this initiative over other Russian regions and add amendments to the federal law about administrative offenses.

South Africa

JOHANNESBURG – As mementos for loved ones who lost their lives in accidents continue to pop up along South African roads, warnings have been given that the consequence of this practice could be equally devastating and fatal. According to the South African National Roads Agency these roadside memorials, including plaques, crosses and wreaths, may pose a safety threat to other motorists traveling on the roads. “These memorials can be hazardous, they may distract people driving past them, resulting in fatal accidents,” explained the agency’s spokesman Connie Nel. She said legislation also prohibited the erection of advertisement boards and signs along the national road reserve.

“The agency’s stance is that we allow a time for public mourning, but it is only fair to remove these roadside memorials and tributes afterwards,” Nel explained, adding routine road maintenance operators would alternatively do so after a certain period of time. She said traffic signs and boards were, on the contrary, “strategically placed to enhance and ensure” road safety. “If every family who has lost a loved one in an accident erects a cross at the scene, what would our roads turn into?” Nel asked.

Johannesburg metro police spokesman Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar echoed the belief that the erection of roadside memorials could result in accidents for passing motorists and road-users. “An accident can happen in a matter of seconds. It only takes a small distraction, like looking at these memorials, to lose concentration and cause an accident,” he said.

The funniest site yet on roadside crosses.
The information on this site is based in part on the author's non-professional understanding of U.S. laws concerning separation of church and state and other matters.
Nothing on this website is intended, nor should it be construed, as legal advice.