Florida's Memorial Markers

Citizen News
Markers: safety and sentiment

By BRENDA HAWKINS
Published Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Across the country, the signs of loved ones lost are everywhere, from crosses placed by the American Legion in Montana to South Dakota’s diamond-shaped “Why die?” signs to Florida’s round, personalized “Drive Safely” markers,

Although federal law prohibits placing makeshift memorials, or anything else, in the right of way on its highways, states are permitted to legislate their own policy on fatality signage.

According to Debbie Tower, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation, Florida’s tribute signs were deliberately designed to be homogenous in 1997.

“We created a design that was non-denominational for obvious reasons,” she says, of the round, 15-inch diameter aluminum signs on five-foot poles, “We were sensitive to that. People are appreciative of the remembrance.”

Fifty-two of the Sunshine State’s memorial markers are posted along Collier County state and federal highways.

The markers feature a white background and black letters reading, “Drive Safely, In Memory,” followed by the deceased’s full name.

Requests for memorial markers may be made by immediate family members or friends, with requests from friends requiring the approval of the deceased’s immediate family.

Tower said it is up to each district’s operations manager to determine whether and where to place a memorial marker. Sometimes the markers are not placed at the exact location of the fatality, due to restricted space, safety concerns, property owner complaints or other constraints. The department installs markers only on designated state roads and does not have the authority to place them on city or county roadways. Memorial markers will not be erected where they are prohibited by the local governmental entity.

“The field manager has to decide if it’s too close to an intersection or sidewalk or utilities,” she says. “People were putting markers in completely inappropriate places. In North Fort Myers, I remember that someone anchored a cross in the ground with a 10-gallon can of cement. Obviously, that didn’t meet specifications.”

To avoid people taking such measures into their own hands, the state not only approves locations, but pays for the creation and installation of the makers, which are manufactured at the FDOT sign fabrication facility.

“It’s a relatively inexpensive program,” Tower said. “We work smart. Our maintenance crews can install them very quickly, but we do it as a part of regular work assignments in an area.”

For that reason, there may lag time of up to two months from approval of a request to installation, according to Stu Myer, an FDOT roadside specialist.

Myer recommended those wishing to have a marker established for a loved one make their request within two years of the fatality. Under state policy, the marker remains at the site for one year unless it has to be moved for construction or maintenance purposes. He said families can request that the sign stay up longer, but approval depends on several factors.

“If we left all those signs up forever, we’d have polka dots up and down the highway,” Myer said.

Collier County has no policy regarding standardized memorials on local roads, but according to public information officer Connie Deane, placing homemade tributes in the right of way is not permitted.

While the “Drive Safely” portion of Florida’s memorial markers is relatively easy to read, the names of the fatality victim can be difficult to read from the roadway without slowing down.

Tower warns drivers not to do that, adding that decoration of the signs is also discouraged for safety reasons.

“We worry a lot about untrained people working in the rights-of-way. We had so many instances of people pulling off the highway to place memorials at the scene of fatal car accident that it became a hazardous situation,” she says. “We recognized that people wanted to remember loved ones lost and also remind people to drive safely.”

To request a marker, go online to dot.state.fl.us/statemaintenanceoffice and click on memorial markers.

One Marker's Story

Citizen News
Florida memorial marker serves as loved one's headstone

Published Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Lollipops.

That’s what Dan Hoolihan calls the memorial markers that dot the highways of Florida.

But it’s a term of endearment for Hoolihan, whose own experience with the little round signs is highly personal. On Dec. 18, 2005, he lost his brother David to a ATV accident at Exit 105 at I-75 and Golden Gate Parkway.

“The signs are supposed to promote safety, because when you see one you know somebody died right there. But for us, it’s a headstone, because we had him cremated and there is no headstone,” he says of the marker, tucked into the landscaping on the northwest quadrant. “There’s nothing left but that little lollipop to mark the last place he was alive; the place where he went to heaven.”

David, 41, and his girlfriend were riding ATV’s near his home late at night when he his four-wheeler hit a pile of asphalt left over from construction of the southbound exit ramp. He flew over the handlebars and was instantly killed.

While authorities suggested David had tried to jump the pile, Dan believes his brother was looking over his shoulder to see how far behind him his girlfriend was, when he accidentally hit the pile of concrete.

“He was a bit of a daredevil; he was always trying to jump everything,” says Dan. “But he was a very talented driver and motocross rider. He wasn’t trying to jump it. It was just a freak accident.”

Dan says his brother would have have been surprised in life to know that he would one day die in an ATV accident.

“He’d kick himself in the butt, looking back, that he went that way,” he says, “knowing he died doing something he loved.”

Dan heard about the memorial marker program from friends and requested the marker, which was installed at the completion of the interchange in 2008.

Today, he is devoted to beautifying the little patch around the marker with landscaping and fresh flowers in memory of his brother. He also decorates the marker for certain holidays. At Christmas, the marker featured a photo of David wearing a Christmas hat emblazoned with the words “Bah Humbug.”

“David was just huge on Christmas and Halloween,” says Dan. “Christmas wasn’t so much about presents as decorating and getting people together, so we have an annual party on Dec. 18 in his memory. It’s a comforting thing we do.”

But according to Debbie Tower, of the Florida Department of Transportation, the agency dissuades people from decorating the markers, which are placed for one year.

“It’s one of the reasons why the state has the program,” she says. “We don’t want to see anything else occur at these locations -- having people in the roadway medians poses a significant safety hazard. That’s why we require permits for any kind of work along the roadways.”

Dan said he was not aware of the one-year marker requirements.

“A year isn’t long enough to leave a marker up, because they really are for the families They’re so far off the road it’s not like anyone can read them,” Dan says “But, I wish people would clean up after themselves, you know, pick up the raggedy teddy bears and faded flowers. It’s okay to decorate the signs, as long as people don’t abuse it and it’s not a distraction to drivers.

“I like visiting the marker, because it’s the closest I’ll ever get to where David was last alive. I take comfort from that little sign. If the state takes it down, I’d be really upset; I’d pay whatever it takes to keep it there,” Dan says in a choked voice. “He touched a lot of people’s lives. He touched the hearts of everybody he met; he just had a way about him. He was way too young to die. We all miss him to death.”