UK council says "crash tributes are hazards"

[Bob]

Derbyshire council has imposed a ’12 weeks and remove it’ rule in place for memorial tributes to crash victims.

Derbyshire County Councillior Clive Moesby said "People who stop at the site of a crash to place flowers or maintain tributes could be putting themselves at risk and flowers and tributes can provide a visual distraction to road users. We appreciate this is a very sensitive issue for people who have lost loved ones and so we felt clear guidance was needed."

Road charity Brake thinks many of the measures are misguided. A spokeswoman said “I haven't seen any research out there saying roadside memorials are a danger. It's no bad thing that people are being reminded that others have been killed on the roads they are driving on. Some people don't like to be reminded that people die on the roads, but unfortunately that's the case, this is reality.”

The scheme in Derbyshire – introduced over concerns that the tributes create a hazard in themselves – will be reviewed in two years. Similar schemes have been introduced in Lincolnshire and East and West Sussex and Cumbria is considering imposing a similar time limit.

[The Baron]

So.. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

[BiK3RChiK]

I think it's a good thing. Some people go so over the top on roadside decoration. We have some in our area with lights, so that at night, it looks like a shrine on the side of the road, and I find it very distracting, especially in the country.

I know people are grieving, but common sense still needs to prevail. If they kept the decoration to floral or similar I think that should be allowed to stay.

Just my 0.10c...