Derbyshire council has joined the increasing numbers of councils in England who are looking for remove the floral tributes often left by the side of the road after a car accident. The council says that people who stop to put flowers at the site of a crash could be putting themselves at risk of an accident, and even when no-one is there, the presence of flowers and tributes at the road side is distracting for motorists passing the scene.

The new time limit before memorials are removed will be 12 weeks, although many relatives of people killed in road traffic accidents have vowed to keep placing flowers at the roadside. One of the people keeping a roadside memorial in memory of a loved one was interviewed in an article on the BBC website and said, “I think the councils are over-stretching the health and safety issues. It might be the place our son took his last breath. The councils said it wasn’t objectionable but it would probably still come under the same ruling. I will replace it if it’s taken down.”

Several other councils have also taken similar measures in recent years to remove roadside tributes. Lincolnshire, East and West Sussex already limit the length of time a roadside tribute can stay in place before it is removed, and Cumbria county council are reported to be considering similar measures. In some cases the limits have been introduced in response to complaints from local people about shrines being left outside their homes. Read the rest of this entry »