Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Podcast

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

Photo: Hippopx, CC

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 USA

Breaking: Trump Admin Seeks To Decimate Federal Transit Funding

"When you're talking about taking away money from transit, your proposal is flawed from the get-go," said one expert.

November 18, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Lost the Battle but Won the War

A Politico long read details how bureaucracy slowed down but couldn't stop the conversion to EVs.

November 18, 2025

Report: Biden Infrastructure Bill Spurred Increase in State and Local Highway Spending

The Urban Institute found an overall increase in capital investment in ground transportation — mostly on highways — and flat investment in public transit.

November 17, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Remember

Fifty U.S. cities and others around the globe memorialized the victims of traffic violence on Sunday.

November 17, 2025

Transportation Politics Is Inherently Radical

And we need to embrace that if we want to win.

November 17, 2025

World Day of Remembrance: ‘My Brother Did Not Die in Vain’

A drunk driver killed Kevin Cruickshank while he was biking in New York City. The movement for safer streets showed me that my brother did not die in vain.

November 16, 2025
See all posts