Death Markers

Markers are limited to traffic-related fatalities occurring on the state highway system. The request to place a marker should be submitted by the victim's family. The request may be submitted by someone other than a family member as long as the request includes written permission from the family.

A roadside memorial is a marker that usually commemorates a site where a person died suddenly and unexpectedly, away from home. Unlike a grave site headstone, which marks where a body is laid, the memorial marks the last place on earth where a person was alive – although in the past travelers were, out of necessity, often buried where they fell.

Usually the memorial is created and maintained by family members or friends of the person who died. A common type of memorial is simply a bunch of flowers, real or plastic, taped to street furniture or a tree trunk. A handwritten message, personal mementos, etc. may be included. More sophisticated memorials may be a memorial cross, ghost bike, or a plaque with an inscription, decorated with flowers or wreaths.

Roadside memorials tend to be clustered along the busiest roadways and often at intersections.

Meaning and message[edit]

Roadside memorials are a statement of grief and love from the loved ones of the accident victim or victims.^[1]

But apart from their personal significance, these memorials also serve as a reminder and warning to other road users of the dangers of driving, and to encourage safer driving.^[2][3] In the 1940s and 1950s, the Arizona Highway Patrol began using white crosses to mark the site of fatal car accidents. This practice was continued by families of road-crash victims after it had been abandoned by the police^{[citation needed]}. The ghost bike phenomenon, where an old bicycle is painted white and locked up at an accident site, serves the same purpose in relation to cycling casualties.

Historically, roadside memorials were personal memorials, but there is a modern trend toward public memorials of increasingly large size. Typically little or no effort is made to make the memorials accommodate the natural beauty of the landscape and many roadside memorials, over time, lack proper maintenance.

The phenomenon of roadside memorials may be associated with another growing trend: public outpouring of grief for celebrities. The death of Diana, Princess of Wales, for example, precipitated an avalanche of flowers and wreaths at the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris, the site of her death, and at Kensington Palace, her home in London.^{[citation needed]} While car-crash victims are rarely so well known, something of the same sort of impulse to make a public display of emotion at the site of a tragedy may be partly responsible for the growing popularity of roadside memorials. The broad phenomenon of creating improvised and temporary memorials after traumatic death (accidents, murder, disasters etc.) has become popular since the 1980s. Because of their non-institutionalized character they are generically coined as grassroots memorials.^[4]

History and practice[edit]

Roadside memorials have been erected around the world for centuries. Their legality varies from country to country.

Australia[edit]

The number of memorials erected in Australia since 1990 has increased considerably. In 2003, it was estimated that one in five road deaths were memorialized at the site of the crash.^[5]

Ukraine[edit]

It is traditional in Ukraine to place a roadside memorial on the site of a deadly car or motorcycle crash. It is usually a cross or a small monument with a wreath of flowers. There are also usually fresh flowers regularly placed by the cross if the relatives of the person who died live close enough to look after the memorial. Sometimes Ukrainian roadside memorials can be more elaborate, including a small granite or marble gravestone and/or a picture of the loved one.

United Kingdom[edit]

In the United Kingdom, the practice of erecting roadside memorials has recently generated a media debate about the danger these memorials may pose to other road users and to people erecting them in unsafe places. This debate has been sparked by accounts of dangerous actions, such as when an adult crosses a main road with a child to place a tribute. Some jurisdictions already enforce local regulations, and police officials and local councilors have suggested that uniform rules be introduced across the country. For example, according to the BBC, in Merthyr Tydfil, memorials will only be allowed where it is deemed safe and appropriate, and they will be removed after three months.^[6]

United States[edit]

The spread of spontaneous roadside memorials to mark the site of fatal traffic accidents in the United States is a relatively new phenomenon. There is a gravestone-style memorial in Ellington, CT marking a child's death in 1812. A typical memorial includes a cross (usually wooden), flowers, hand-painted signs, and, in the case of a child's death, stuffed animals.

The spread of roadside memorials in the United States has increased in recent decades as a result of large immigrant populations from Mexico entering the country^{[clarification needed]}. And while not limited to Mexican populations, roadside memorials are most common in areas with large Mexican populations.^{[citation needed]} Formerly, in funerary processions where a group would proceed from a church to a graveyard carrying a coffin, the bearers would take a rest, or descanso in Spanish, and wherever they set the coffin down, a cross would be placed there in memory of the event. The modern practice of roadside shrines commemorate the last place a person was alive before receiving fatal injuries, even if they should actually die in a hospital after the crash.^[7]

In the southwestern United States, they are also common at historic parajes on old long distance trails, going back to the roots of the tradition, and also marked the graves of people who died while traveling.^{[citation needed]} A descanso memorial may be decorated especially for the holidays, and for significant anniversaries in the person's life. A descanso memorial for a child may be decorated with special toys, even toy vignettes of family life, and votive candles may be placed there on special nights.

In the United States, the legal situation varies from state to state.

In New Mexico, Department of Transportation crews undertaking new construction are not required to protect them, but usually either avoid altering them, or otherwise place them as close to where they originally were as possible once construction has been completed as a courtesy.^[7]

In California, Streets and Highways Code Section 101.10 directs the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to place and maintain memorial signs along state highways that read “Please Don't Drink and Drive” followed by “In Memory of {victim's name}.” Caltrans places signs at the request of victims’ relatives when there is a fatality as a result of an alcohol or drug-impaired driver. The signs are to remain in place for a period of seven years. The department shall charge the requesting party a fee to cover the department’s cost in designing, constructing, placing, and maintaining that sign, and the department’s costs in administering this section.^{[clarification needed]}

The states of Colorado, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Wisconsin ban such memorials.

In the state of Delaware, roadside memorials are illegal per the Clear Zone Act for safety reasons. As an alternative to roadside memorials, the Delaware Highway Memorial Garden located at the Smyrna Rest Area consists of a path with bricks bearing the names of people who died along roads in Delaware.^[8] Other states impose specific requirements for roadside memorials.^[9][10]

In Birmingham, Alabama, roadside memorials have been removed from Interstate highways.^[11] Some people view unauthorized street memorials as illegal and think they constitute the taking of public property for private purposes, and are also a distraction and therefore dangerous to the motoring public. Others think they serve as a sort of public service announcement that reminds drivers to be careful and drive safely, and are no more distracting than any other roadside advertisement.^{[citation needed]} For anyone but those close to the death, they may do little but clutter the landscape. If the memorial is located on a road that the loved ones seldom or never travel, or in a remote area, it may be seen as a form of grandstanding.^{[citation needed]}

Using a Christian cross as a memorial along a public highway can be seen as an illegal endorsement of religion and has been challenged in a growing number of lawsuits by secular groups concerned about the separation of church and state.^[12] On 18 August 2010 the Tenth Circuit held that the State of Utah violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution by constructing a series of 12-foot high Latin crosses along the roadside to memorialize fallen state troopers.^[13] In Lake Elsinore California, a personal roadside cross was removed following a complaint by the American Humanist Association.^[14]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Reid, A. (2015). 'Place, Meaning, and the Visual Argument of the Roadside Cross, Savannah Law Review'. 2: 265–300. SSRN2633661.Cite journal requires journal= (help)
2. ^Tay, R., Churchill, A. & de Barros, A. 2011. Effect of roadside memorial on traffic flow, Accident Analysis and Prevention, vol. 43, pp.483–486
3. ^Tay, R. 2009. Drivers' perceptions and reactions to roadside memorials, Accident Analysis and Prevention, vol. pp.41, 663–669
4. ^Grassroots Memorials: The Politics of Memorializing Traumatic Death, eds Peter Jan Margry and Cristina Sánchez-Carretero (New York: Berghahn, 2011)
5. ^Motha, Joe, ed. (2003), Road Safety in Australia: a Publication Commemorating World Health Day 2004(PDF), Australian Transport Safety Bureau, p. 290, retrieved 21 December 2009
6. ^''Dangerous' road tributes concern'. BBC News. 15 March 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
7. ^ ^ab'I25 crews protect roadside memorial'. Krqe.com. 3 March 2009. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
8. ^'Community Programs and Services – Delaware Highway Memorial Garden'. Delaware Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
9. ^Commercial Appeal : Memphis News, Business, Homes, Jobs, Cars, & InformationArchived 19 March 2006 at the Wayback Machine
10. ^'(see state by state requirements)'. Descansos.org. 8 September 2004. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
11. ^'Yahoo!'. autos.aol.com.
12. ^Reid, A. (2013). 'Private Memorials on Public Space: Roadside Crosses at the Intersection of the Free Speech Clause and the Establishment Clause, Nebraska Law Review'. 92: 124–184. SSRN2278611.Cite journal requires journal= (help)
13. ^'American Atheists, Inc. v. Duncan'. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
14. ^'Mom Who Lost Son In Fatal Crash To Remove Cross Memorial After Atheist Group Complains'. CBS Los Angeles. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.

External links[edit]

• Flowers of loss the roadside tributes that provide a haunting reminder of our own mortalityThe Independent
• Zarrilli, Tom. 'Crosses, Flowers, and Asphalt: Roadside Memorials in the U.S. South,'Southern Spaces 19 August 2009.

Dynmap supports mechanisms for adding content to maps, above what is rendered by the maps. This content is collectively referred to as Markers, and consist of markers (marker icons), marker areas, and marker poly-lines.

Marker Sets

Markers are collected and organized as collections, referred to as Marker Sets. Each Marker Set is a labelled layer, selectable using the web UIs layer selector. Every marker is contained within a specific marker set. By default, there is always at least one marker set, labelled Markers, that will be used to contain any markers that are not specifically assigned to another marker set. Deleting a marker set will delete all markers within the set.

New marker sets can be created using the /dmarker addset <markerset-label> or /dmarker addset id:<markerset-id> commands. Additional parameters can be used to refine the set's behavior: prio:<N> is used to control the order of the layer in the layer control, relative to other sets; hide:<true false> is used to control whether the set is visible (checked) or hidden (unchecked) by default; 'minzoom:` is used to make the markers in the set hidden until a specific zoom level is selected.

Settings on existing marker sets can be altered using the /dmarker updateset <markerset-label> or /dmarker updateset id:<markerset-id> commands, with prio:<N>, hide:<true false> or newlabel:<new-label> as parameters.

As of 0.32, the setting 'showlabels:<true false null>` is supported. This setting, when true or false, enables or disables the visibility of marker labels (disabled visibility causes labels to only show when the mouse cursor is hovering over the marker). The value null uses the global default behavior (defined by the showlabels setting in the markers component in configuration.txt.

Marker sets (except for the default marker set, Markers) can be deleted using the /dmarker deleteset <markerset-label> or /dmarker deleteset id:<markerset-id> commands.

Marker

Markers are the most common map markers - simple icons with an associated label and/or an associated description popup. Each marker has a defined location in world coordinates (X, Y, Z and a world ID), a marker icon ID, a label, and an optional description. The marker icon ID can be one of the standard marker IDs (shown at the bottom of this page), or can correspond to an installed icon (see Marker Icons section, below).

Markers can be added one of a couple of ways:

• /dmarker add <marker-label> icon:<icon-id> set:<markerset-id> - this must be issued by a logged-in player, and will cause a marker to be defined at the player's current location. If set is not provided, the marker will be created in the default marker set, Markers. If icon is not defined, the default marker icon is used (default, a house).

• /dmarker add id:<marker-id> <marker-label> icon:<icon-id< set:<markerset-id> - Same as above, except that the unique ID of the marker is specified.

• Using a sign: If the enablesigns setting on the markers component is true, users with the appropriate privilege (dynmap.marker.sign) can create markers using specially labelled signs. To use these, the first line of the sign MUST be [dynmap]. After that, any non-blank line will be included in the label of the marker, except for lines formatted as set:<markerset-id> (which allows the marker to be added to a specific marker set) or icon:<icon-id> (which allows the marker to be set to use a specific icon - if not specified, the icon sign is used). If the marker is successfully created, the sign's text will erase the [dynmap], set: and icon: lines. If the sign is later deleted, the corresponding map marker is deleted.

Once created, markers can be edited using one of a couple of commands:

• /dmarker movehere <marker-label> set:<markerset-id> or /dmarker movehere id:<marker-id> set:<markerset-id>: This will move the existing marker to the player's current location. Note: the markerset-id is required to select a marker not in the default marker set (markers).

• /dmarker update <marker-label> set:<markerset-id> icon:<icon-id> newlabel:<new-label> or /dmarker update id:<marker-id> set:<markerset-id> icon:<icon-id> newlabel:<new-label>. Note: the markerset-id is required to select a marker not in the default marker set (markers) - the marker set ID is not editable.

Markers can be deleted using the /dmarker delete <marker-label> set:<markerset-id> or /dmarker delete id:<marker-id> set:<markerset-id> command.

Existing markers, and their attributes, can be shown using the /dmarker list set:<markerset-id> command.

Marker Icons

Marker Icons are image resources used to provide the images for markers. Dynmap supplies a number of standard marker icons, shown below, that are always present and defined, and are not deletable. The list of availabile icons can be found by running the /dmarker icons command.

New marker icons can be installed by doing the following:

• Copy the image file, in PNG format, to the bukkit server's file system. The image in the file should be 8x8, 16x16 or 32x32 pixels in size.

• Run the command /dmarker addicon id:<icon-id> <icon-label> file:<path-to-image-file> - if successful, the image file will be imported (so it doesn't need to be left where it was first copied).

To update the image for an existing icon, run the /dmarker updateicon id:<icon-id> newlabel:<new-label> file:<path-to-image-file>.

To delete an existing image, run the /dmarker deleteicon id:<icon-id>.

Area Markers

Area markers are used to place 2-D or 3-D outlines on the world maps. The area defined by an area marker is defined by a sequence of 2 or more X,Z coordinates, defining a rectangle (if 2 points, they are opposite corners of the rectangle) or a polygon (if 3 or more points, they define the ordered sequence of points for the polygon, with the last point connecting to the first). Optionally, the minimum and maximum Y coordinates can be supplied, to extend the 2-D shape into a 3-D volume (flat on the top and bottom).

The appearance of the edges of the outline can be controlled by setting the color attribute (#RRGGBB), line weight (0-N), and opacity (0.0-1.0). The appearance of the filled area within the outlines can be controled by setting the fill color attribute (#RRGGBB), and fill opacity (0.0-1.0).

To create an area, a list of corners needs to be supplied. Corners can be entered as follows:

• Running /dmarker addcorner to add the player's current position as a corner.

• Running /dmarker addcorner <x> <y> <z> or /dmarker addcorner <x> <y> <z> <world> to add a specific coordinate as a corner.

If needed, the corner list can be reset using the /dmarker clearcorners.

Once all the corners are entered, an area marker can be created using the /dmarker addarea <area-label> set:<markerset-id> or /dmarker addarea id:<area-id> <area-label> set:<markerset-id> commands. Additional attributes can be set with these commands, or later updated using the /dmarker updatearea id:<area-id> set:<markerset-id> or /dmarker updatearea <area-label> set:<markerset-id> command. These settings include:

• color - outline color (#RRGGBB format)

• fillcolor - fill color (within the outlines) (#RRGGBB format)

• 'opacity` - Opacity of the outline strokes (0.0 = transparent, 1.0 = solid)

• 'fillopacity` - Opacity of the filled color areas (0.0 = transparent, 1.0 = solid)

• weight - Stroke weight of outline (0=minimum, higher=thicker)

• ytop - Y coordinate of the top of the area (default=64)

• ybottom - Y coordinate of the bottom of the area (default=64)

Note: The corners in an existing area cannot currently be updated - delete the existing area and add a new area to update these. Also, the corner list is reset after they are used to create a new area using the /dmarker addarea command.

To delete an area marker, use the /dmarker deletearea id:<area-id> set:<markerset-id> command.

Existing areas, and their attributes, can be shown using the /dmarker listareas set:<markerset-id> command.

Circle Markers

Circle markers are used to place 2-D circular (or elliptical) outlines on the world maps. The area defined by a circle marker is defined by a center point (x, y, z) and either a radius (for a circle, via radius setting) or an X vs Z radius (for an ellipse, via radiusx and radiusz setting).

The appearance of the edges of the outline can be controlled by setting the color attribute (#RRGGBB), line weight (0-N), and opacity (0.0-1.0). The appearance of the filled area within the outlines can be controled by setting the fill color attribute (#RRGGBB), and fill opacity (0.0-1.0).

A circle marker can be created using the /dmarker addcircle <circle-label> set:<markerset-id> or /dmarker addcircle id:<circle-id> <circle-label> set:<markerset-id> commands. Additional attributes can be set with these commands, or later updated using the /dmarker updatecircle id:<circle-id> set:<markerset-id> or /dmarker updatecircle <circle-label> set:<markerset-id> command. These settings include:

• x - X coordinate of center (default is current location of player issuing command)

• y - Y coordinate of center (default is current location of player issuing command)

• z - Z coordinate of center (default is current location of player issuing command)

• radius - radius of circle (default is 1)

• 'radiusx' - radius of ellipse on X axis (default is 1)

• 'radiusz' - radius of ellipse on Z axis (default is 1)

• world - world of center (default is current location of player issuing command)

• color - outline color (#RRGGBB format)

• fillcolor - fill color (within the outlines) (#RRGGBB format)

• 'opacity` - Opacity of the outline strokes (0.0 = transparent, 1.0 = solid)

• 'fillopacity` - Opacity of the filled color areas (0.0 = transparent, 1.0 = solid)

• weight - Stroke weight of outline (0=minimum, higher=thicker)

To delete a circle marker, use the /dmarker deletecircle id:<circle-id> set:<markerset-id> command.

Existing circles, and their attributes, can be shown using the /dmarker listcircles set:<markerset-id> command.

Poly-Line Markers

Poly-line markers are used to place a sequence of connected line segments on the world maps. Each poly-line marker is defined by a sequence of 1 or more X,Y,Z coordinates, along with a label, an optional description popup, and associated line color, weight, and opacity settings.

The appearance of the lines can be controlled by setting the color attribute (#RRGGBB), line weight (0-N), and opacity (0.0-1.0).

To create a poly-line, a list of corners needs to be supplied. Corners can be entered as follows:

• Running /dmarker addcorner to add the player's current position as a corner.

• Running /dmarker addcorner <x> <y> <z> or /dmarker addcorner <x> <y> <z> <world> to add a specific coordinate as a corner.

If needed, the corner list can be reset using the /dmarker clearcorners.

Once all the corners are entered, a poly-line marker can be created using the /dmarker addline <line-label> set:<markerset-id> or /dmarker addline id:<line-id> <line-label> set:<markerset-id> commands. Additional attributes can be set with these commands, or later updated using the /dmarker updateline id:<line-id> set:<markerset-id> or /dmarker updateline <line-label> set:<markerset-id> command. These settings include:

He rarely pays attention to tact due to his perpetual bad temper and this can get him into trouble when doing some important jobs. However, sometimes the good deeds the engines do can lift Cranky's spirits and he's gotten so used to work that he does it with ease.Technical Details BasisAccording to an interview with 'Thomas and Friends' art director, Cranky is based on photographic references of various cranes from the 1920s to the 1950s.LiveryCranky is painted olive with black and brown pulleys amongst his mechanism. Cranky hates a lot of things from 's stories to being woken up to 's jokes and he loves teasing the engines when things don't go their way.

• color - outline color (#RRGGBB format)

• 'opacity` - Opacity of the outline strokes (0.0 = transparent, 1.0 = solid)

• weight - Stroke weight of outline (0=minimum, higher=thicker)

Note: The corners in an existing poly-line cannot currently be updated - delete the existing poly-line and add a new poly-line to update these. Also, the corner list is reset after they are used to create a new poly-line using the /dmarker addline command.

To delete an existing poly-line, use the /dmarker deleteline id:<line-id> set:<markerset-id> command.

Existing lines, and their attributes, can be shown using the /dmarker listlines set:<markerset-id> command.