VicRoads to regulate roadside memorials

FIRST ON 3AW

VicRoads wants to regulate roadside memorials in a move that has already caused division.

The Neil Mitchell program revealed a suite of new rules will be put in place, including:

 

• No memorials on freeways
• No memorials attached to poles
• No memorials on traffic islands
• No memorials within 30 metres of a T-intersection
• Contact details to be left at the memorial

NEIL MITCHELL: They’re trying to do this sensitively, but it will cause concern. It does seem like a layer of bureaucracy over grief. I think memorials are more a reminder than an intrusion. 

Several complained over more regulation and red tape.

But another caller, who was once first on scene of a fatal crash, supported the move.

‘Just bare in mind what it’s like for volunteers who attend a fatality,’ Rick told Neil Mitchell.

‘Post-traumatic stress was something that I dealt with.

‘Just driving down the road sometimes was hard enough, but to actually see something jump out at you was not a good thing.’