White crosses on the side of the road

[Paul in NZ]

I wear black....because it doesn't show the dirt....

Damn - I thought you were a fellow Johnny Cash fan...

"Man In Black"

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.

[u4ea]

nice ode there paul

[Lias]

Personally I dont think the crosses should be onthe sides of the road. Just find them distracting and annoying.

[BuFfY]

There are hundreds of different things on the side of the road to distract drivers/riders... such as signs for different venues etc yet I haven't heard anyone saying how distracting they are! On the way to Whitianga for new years there were all these signs on the side of the road saying JAFFA and all these silly little sayings. This is distracting.. you have to read that! Yet the little white crosses simply show you that someone died here... they are a symbol and up for interpretation. And personally they do get me to slow down... they make me realise that someone was distracted here in some way and maybe I should concentrate going down this strip of road

[MisterD]

On the subject of Darwinian reminders (without wanting to prematurely liberate another hobby horse), I have two words: Piha Rescue...

If that hooby horse does get free, I'm more than happy to give it space on my soap-box....why anyone would paddle beyong ankle-depth at Piha is beyond me...

[Big Dave]

I walk in to AMPS and Robert upstairs says

'you never have to sort your washing do you.'

'Black.............like a pastel black' - Spinal Tap.

[Motu]

[QUOTE=Paul in NZ]Damn - I thought you were a fellow Johnny Cash fan...
QUOTE]

'Course I am,but couldn't be bothered putting in a verse from Man in Black...I figured those who know the song would run it through their head - thanks for the effort.I'd love to go to the movie,but my wife hates people who don't sing in tune,,,she doesn't see the irony.

[Ixion]

It is interesting how many people claim they are a distraction

yet, when you think about it, they are only one item in a great mass of stuff by the roadside. Are bushes a distraction? trees? Phone poles ? Cattle ? marker posts ?

No, of course not. Why then are crosses a distraction?

Presumably, because people NOTICE them. You don't actually notice the phone poles as you ride past. But the crosses , people do notice them. And feel uncomfortable , they are a momento mori, a reminder of our mortality .

Most people find that reminder uncomrtable - we don't LIKE being reminded that we too are moral and must soon die. So they resent the reminder - it is "distracting"

All of which would seem to indicate that the crosses work! They make people uncomfortable. They are noticed.

The "distraction" of which folk complain is the niggling thought "uh , someone died here - DANGER - Maybe I'm not immortal and bulletproof either - maybe I should slow down". We don't like that niggling thought.

(wouldn't put one up m'self btw)

[Squeak the Rat]

No, of course not. Why then are crosses a distraction?

As humans we gravitate towards what we are thinking about. What's [arguably] the number one rule when cornering? Look where you are going, don't fixate on the tree, ditch, pothole, powerpole etc because that's where you'll head.

Athletes these days mentally picture the perfect shot, throw, putt whatever, and this influences their actual actions. Imagining a bad shot, throw or corner will have the opposite effect.

Every time I see a cross on the side of the road I get a mental picture of a grizzly road crash.

These are the last thoughts that I wan't in my head as I'm negotiating a series of corners at 100km/hr.

[Nitzer]

These are the last thoughts that I wan't in my head as I'm negotiating a series of corners at 100km/hr.

or maybe they can act as a timely reminder to be careful when conering at 100km and maybe drop your speed a bit.

I don't have a problem with the white crosses, there are plenty of other objects on the road that are far more distracting.

[Ixion]

..

Every time I see a cross on the side of the road I get a mental picture of a grizzly road crash.

These are the last thoughts that I wan't in my head as I'm negotiating a series of corners at 100km/hr.

I would have thought these would be the FIRST thoughts you would want in your mind as you negotiate a series of 80kph corners at 100kph ?

What you say just shows that the crosses work. They make people think, and slow down. I could accept your argument if this was about crosses at a racetrack. But it's a public road, not a race track. If you're going so fast that a mental image of a grisley crash unsettles you, then SLOW DOWN.

Answer this - if the poor souls to whose memory the crosses are erected , had themselves seen a cross at the point they crashed, would they perhaps have had a mental picture of a grisley crash AND SLOWED DOWN. thus NOT crashing

(circular argument of course, if they don't crash there is no cross. but y'know what I mean)

[Patrick]

Same. Timely reminders for all I think. Sure reminds me. Keeps the kids occupied counting them on long journeys...

[ZeroIndex]

haha, in south africa... if they did crosses where people died, the highway would have *WHITE-PICKET-FENCES* HAHA, so cruel and harsh...

[sAsLEX]

Answer this - if the poor souls to whose memory the crosses are erected , had themselves seen a cross at the point they crashed, would they perhaps have had a mental picture of a grisley crash AND SLOWED DOWN. thus NOT crashing

May of target fixated and only added to the white mess on the side of the road!

Going on from the dont see the gorilla thread does this not point out that people see the crosses as a sign of danger and focus on them maybe missing the diesel on the road etc where as a bush aint really a sign of danger?

[madboy]

I can't say I care one way or another on white crosses. I don't do the whole mourning thing myself. But then I've never had anyone I was THAT close to die in a road accident. I was at Flyin's funeral, I've been to the accident site. That is the one corner where I do slow down and think "what if" specifically because I do know "what did". Other than that, there are no white crosses that slow me down nor distract me. If I'm in a bored moment with spare mental capacity to think "what if", it's usually more like "WTF? How did they do that here?"

But if we put aside the emotion and think of this from another angle - what if I go and put up a sign on the side of some road saying "Madboy was here". People call that littering. Sure, pandering to my ego may not be a valid reason for putting a sign on the side of the road, but is mourning a loved one's death also a valid reason? How about we also put signs up where people have had serious accidents that did not result in death? "Johnny crashed his WRX here, and ended up in hospital for six months, rehab for years for his brain injury, doesn't recognise his family and will forever be dependant on third parties for the next 50 years until he dies of natural causes." Is that a valid reason for a sign? I mean, your son's brain, personality and executive functioning died at that spot - should that be noted too?