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

Dedication: Crenshaw and Slauson to Forever be Known as “Nipsey Hussle Square”

“Age fourteen on up, my whole life took place on these four corners...This really was my foundation," Hussle told Current TV back in 2010. Now renamed in his honor, they pay tribute to how he transformed them.

March 5, 2026

Measure HLA at Two Years: a Timeline of How L.A. City has Resisted Safer Multimodal Streets

With just 300 feet of HLA upgrades in two years, L.A. City's main effort has been to actively block HLA progress

March 5, 2026

Thursday’s Headlines

World Cup, LAPD, LASD, congestion pricing, Waymo, homelessness, Long Beach, Metrolink, Glendale, car-nage, and more

March 5, 2026

Wednesday’s Headlines

Nipsey Hussle Square, Long Beach, marathon, Griffith Park, Sycamore Grove Park, car-nage, and more

March 4, 2026

SGV Connect 146: What’s Next for the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority

CEO Habib Balian joins SGV Connect to discuss the A Line’s steady ridership, transit-oriented development along the corridor, and the shift to a new delivery model for the long-anticipated Claremont extension.

March 3, 2026

Tuesday’s Headlines

ICE, Playa del Rey, L.A. City charter reform, World Cup, Pasadena, Culver City, car-nage, and more

March 3, 2026
See all posts