The exorcism of the roadside ghosts

[shewhomust]

Somewhere, I'm sure, I must already have written about a feauture of the French roadsides: the life-size black silhouettes standing - I assume - at the locations of fatal accidents. I started seeing them, all over the country, a few years ago - and was thoroughly spooked by them. As a road safety campaign it's more vivid than our: "Last 3 years: 92 accidents" type notices.

This year, they were much diminished. Literally, too. The full size figures - all identical, as far as I could see - of indeterminate gender have been replaced by smaller silhouettes, fully dressed. Perhaps they represent specific individuals, but they are no longer Everyman.

Perhaps the campaign is becoming more familiar, and so less effective. For the first time this year I saw a silhouette with a poster stuck on his chest, like a sandwich-board man.

Because I had been thinking about this, I made what I'm sure was an unintended connection when I saw this series of sculptural flower-beds around the town of Saint Dizier: the old ghosts have not vanished, they have simply taken up water sports.

Comments

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

Here they mark roadside accidents with little crosses. I have advised various friends that I shall haunt them if I'm killed in a car accdent and my place-of-destruction is marked by a cross. Mostly they look bewildered, but two friends have promised to lobby the government for no cross. There's something about jewishness that confuses many other Australians.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Here we see flowers - and sometimes crosses, or soft toys - left by family and friends. But are you saying that the Australian government puts up crosses? That's taking a lot for granted!

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

it's the local government (Australian Capital Territory) and yes, it's a bit ... daft.

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

Usually I've seen stuffed animals and false flowers affixed to telephone poles and such. It's eerie, especially when they've begin to fade.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Or real flowers, but wrapped in plastic. The soft toys are very creepy, though - someone crucified a teddy bear, up past Pity Me: why? what had the poor bear done?