Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Streetsblog USA

The (Too-Brief) History of Traffic Violence Memorials in America

Photo: Hippopx, CC

It's our December donation drive. Click our donation page for info or use the donor widget on this page. Thanks!
It's our December donation drive. Click the icon above. Thanks!

Mass memorials to the victims of traffic violence are a rarity on American roads. But it wasn't always that way — and there's a fascinating history behind why so many lost lives have become virtually invisible in the public realm today.

On this episode of The Brake, Kea Wilson sits down with historian and author Peter Norton to talk about how America used to memorialize car crash deaths in the early days of the automobile, and why automakers invested so much into reshaping the way we grieve. And then they chat about what it might take to bring the national traffic violence epidemic out of the shadows, and why even everyday non-lethal road trauma deserves to be called out.

Listen in below, on Apple podcasts, or anywhere else you listen.

No time to listen — or want to dig a little deeper? Check out our earlier coverage on this topic:

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Councilmember Raman Cuts Ribbon on New Franklin/Harvard Signalized Crosswalk

"Improvements like these are not only critical for making Los Angeles more accessible, they quite literally save lives."

October 24, 2025

Metro Board Approves Union Station Run-Through Tracks Project

Construction of the initial phase of "Link US" Union Station upgrades - including a new rail bridge over the 101 Freeway - is expected to get underway in 2026

October 23, 2025
See all posts