Life saver or ‘pile of f***ing bulls***’?: Roadside memorial complaint stirs debate

A GOLD Coast resident has launched an expletive-laden complaint over a roadside memorial outside his property. Heartless, or does he have a point?

A GOLD Coast resident has launched an expletive-laden complaint over a roadside memorial outside his property, saying it is “ugly and disrespectful”.

It has prompted a debate about makeshift shrines, with road safety campaigners arguing the floral-decorated spots are important reminders of the dangers on our roads.

The issue was raised by a Tallai man who is threatening to remove the “ugly” shrine from the front of his property immediately after the funeral of the woman killed there.

The furious resident told the Gold Coast Bulletin the site where a 57-year-old woman died and a man was left critically injured earlier this month had become a “pile of f***ing bulls***”.

“It’s on our property, no one asked us if they could put it there and they just shoved this (expletive) memorial in our front yard and we’re (expletive) off about it,” he told the Bulletin.

“It’s ugly and it’s disrespectful and it's not going to bring the person back.”

This makeshift shrine marks the spot where a 57-year-old woman was killed. Picture: Mike Batterham

The homeowner says the makeshift shrine is ‘ugly’ and he wants it removed. Picture: Mike Batterham

Pictures from the site of the fatal crash show a roadside tree adorned with artificial flowers and bunches of blooms at its base.

A wooden cross rests against the trunk and children’s drawings have also been left there. Around the tree, florist-bought floral arrangements have been left on the grass.

The homeowner has threatened to cut down the tree “so they’ve got nothing left to it”, and vowed to destroy what remains of the memorial immediately after the woman’s funeral.

“People just keep putting s*** there in our front yard ... it’s nonsense.”

Prominent road safety campaigner Safer Australian Roads and Highways president Peter Frazer was shocked to hear of the residents’ fiery complaint.

Mr Frazer has devoted the past five years of his life campaigning for road safety improvement and trying to save other families from the devastation he experienced when his daughter Sarah was crushed by a truck while standing in a highway breakdown lane on her way to university in 2012.

He told news.com.au in all his years of involvement in the area, he had never heard complaints about roadside memorials.

A roadside memorial for Sarah Frazer remains by the Hume Highway at Berrima.

Sarah Frazer was killed on the Hume Highway after her car broke down.

Peter Frazer became a prominent road safety campaigner following his daughter’s death.

“It’s tended to be a fairly positive attitude, and people recognise it’s done our of respect where people have been killed,” he said, adding that the roadside shrines are actually helpful to drivers.

“It’s really important to recognise that someone has been killed,” he said.

“With 1300 people killed last year and 35,000 seriously injured, we really need to raise the awareness of all drivers that this has happened, in this spot, and it could happen to them.”

A roadside shrine still exists for Sarah Frazer alongside the Hume Highway at Berrima, and Mr Frazer said he and the family had received nothing but positive comments about it.

“One of the interesting things is that truck drivers have talked about slowing down if they’re speeding when they see a roadside memorial,” he said. “It’s a really poignant reminder.”

Road Safety Education program director Greg Rappo said roadside memorials actually helped to reduce the road toll.

“Our view is that there are a lot of distractions on the road and this is a minor one, and that is definitely outweighed by the benefits,” he said. “A small little memorial is a reminder that can save lives.”

Mr Rappo said he had heard complaints about roadside memorials in the past, but this was “very, very rare”.

“I really think this is a minority, I know the broad community is very, very supportive,” he said.

Originally published as Life saver or ‘pile of f***ing bulls***’?: Roadside memorial complaint stirs debate