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

SGV Bus Rapid Transit Gets Another $3.9M for Study and Design

Early improvements combine for about 14 miles of continuous bus lanes, expected to be installed in advance of the 2028 Olympic games

February 26, 2026

Metro D Line Subway Extension Will Open Friday May 8

Subway riders will be able to travel from Beverly Hills to Downtown L.A. in just 20 minutes

February 26, 2026

Thursday’s Headlines

ICE, LAPD, speed cameras, SB79, Santa Monica, charter reform, E Line, Beverly Hills, WeHo, car-nage, and more

February 26, 2026

Wednesday’s Headlines

Westwood, SB79, shade competition, Bundy TOD, Pasadena parking, car-nage, and more

February 25, 2026

Tuesday’s Headlines

ICE, bike-walk funding, SB 79, potholes, Metro, armadillos, housing, car-nage, and more

February 24, 2026

This Week In Livable Streets

Long Beach 2nd Street Bridge, Metro board meetings, NoHo-Pasadena BRT, SB79, LADOT speed camera program, and more

February 23, 2026
See all posts