Families of individuals who have died on Georiga roadways can now purchase memorial signs to place at crash sites.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is now offering memorial signs that will stand alongside major roadways.
These signs will be 15-inch, round white signs with the message “Drive Safely; In Memory; (the deceased’s name)” displayed in black letters.
Families or friends of individuals killed on Georgia roadways on or after July 1, 2010, will be able to submit a written request for a sign to be placed at or near the site on a roadway in the state highway system, according to Mohamed Arafa, Communications officer for GDOT for Northwest Georgia.
This does not apply to city streets or county roads, he said.
“The purpose of this is to increase public awareness of highway safety, and at the same time, memorialize people who have died as a result of a vehicle crash,” he said.
The fee for a sign is $100 for fabrication and installation, Arafa said, and the signs will be kept along the roadway for a year, after which the sign will be passed and given to another applicant.
Families will have the opportunity to renew their application after that year and keep the sign in its place, according to Arafa.
According to GDOT, these signs will be placed as close to the scene as is practical for the location or situation, unless the sign is to be placed in a construction zone or in a place that prohibits placement of these signs.
Ceremonies at the site are prohibited, according to GDOT.
This program is not the first of its kind. GDOT also offers a program for victions of killed by drivers who are under the influence, which was instated in 2006, Arafa stated.
In the D.U.I. Victims Memorial Program, next of kin to the victims of vehicular homicide with DUI may request a memorial sign at or in close proximity to the crash site, according to the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), the leader of the program.
To be eligible for this program, the homicide must have occurred in Georiga on a state highway, and the crime must have taken place on or after May 13, 2004, according to the CJCC.
For more information on the memorial sign program or for relevant forms click here. For further information on the D.U.I. sign program click here.
"The fee for a sign is $100 for fabrication and installation, Arafa said, and the signs will be kept along the roadway for a year, after which the sign will be passed and given to another applicant."
Aside from the idea of charging for it (which arguably may be fair), why shouldn't it stay up forever? Several signs at one site would alert drivers that it is a particularly bad spot for accidents. Maybe its that the DOT doesn't want to have some of their poor road and intersection designs (which would be highlighted by a number of memorial signs at one spot) on display for the public.
I've always been proud to be from Georgia, but of late the stupidity and backwardness of our elected officials and heads of government agencies sometimes makes me want to move to somewhere where folks have a little more sense.
Read more: Calhoun Times - News, classifieds, businesses, and events in the area of Gordon County, GA.