My point exactly, which got somewhat lost in my ire and translation.
Here in Florida (and perhaps other states), the state department of transportation has in place a Memorial Marker program which I believe works very well. The FDOT discourages homemade memorials and usually removes them. Instead they place small, unobtrusive markers at fatal crash sites usually with the names of the deceased. They can keep them in place for up to a year, but I’ve seen few that remain that long.
When I see one, I dart my eyes momentarily in that direction and it saddens me to think of the tragic loss of life and the suffering of their friends and family. Anyone who has lost friends or family short of a complete life always has my sincere condolences no matter what the circumstances are. The memorials also compel me to look down at my speedometer and make sure I’m driving safely. They have, to my knowledge, never caused traffic congestion nor rubber-necker accidents. This article explains the psychology of the program well.
I get the impression, based on Kambuckta’s description, that things are quite different in the Land Down Under (no, not Hell…but, close), and this comes as no surprise to me. This is a country where everybody drives cars like Mad Max, they have silly accents and wear silly hats, they often drive with marsupials as passengers, and they eat Vegemite. What do you expect?
We Americans try to set a good example for proper New World society behavior, but to no avail. I suspect it has something to do with Aussies having tiny heads compared to us big-brained Americans. I hypothesize that there was some cross-breeding going on between the early Australian settlers and these guys to account for this.
Of course Aussies erect roadside memorials the size of the Eiffel Tower and populate them with stuffed wallabies and wallaroos and wombats. And, of course they constantly careen off highways at the drop of a hat, like lemmings falling off a cliff. What do you expect? They’re Aussies fer cryin’ out loud!—they drive on the wrong side of the road and backwards over there. Heck, even their toilet bowl water flushes in the wrong direction. They’re a nation of lookie-loos—they see something of interest like a roadside memorial and they’ll stare at it for 5 minutes or more while going something like 8000 km/sec[sup]2[/sup] down the road (do I have my metric units down right?). They also have an abundance of roadway distractions: cars filled with funnel-web spiders, blue-ringed octopuses suctioned onto their genitals, etc.
Frankly, I’m amazed Aussies haven’t Darwin Awarded themselves into extinction long ago.
… 
just kidding Kambuckta, I like your wacky country just fine. But, you should lobby for Florida-type roadside memorials over there—they are respectful and cause few if any traffic problems.
That made me think of this event…
“A family and friends visiting the spot where Susan Smith drowned her two little boys met with tragedy themselves when their vehicle rolled into John D. Long Lake. Three adults and four children drowned.”
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1996/09/02/met_199389.shtml#.Vol-u091uwk
I know that is not permitted language and all, but can I just say that this is my new catch phrase?
And I don’t even know anyone named Drunky 
I pers’nly have never seen any grandiose wombat laden memorials to dead Australians on the side of any Australian road. I sin flowers, a cross here and there.
Canberra drivers need to stop slowing down to gawk at random stuff by the side of the road tho. And as for Victorians - worst drivers in the world. I’ve seen dogs on tractors with better awareness and roadhandling.
Instant morbid thought after reading this - that poor memorial tree is just something else for another careless or drunk driver to plough into…
If it’s about safety, okay.
That’s a legitimate concern though.
And happens
This, for me, is where sympathy for the mourners dries up. When your memorial encompasses photos, flowers, letters and posters up to a height of three metres, and includes graffiti on the road surface and traffic signs; when your memorial has already inspired one letter of concern that it is impeding the view of motorists and is so distracting that it may cause another accident; when your memorial is being blamed for causing another accident - and not an “accident” like the one your loved one died in where a moron driving at ridiculous speeds killed himself and three others, but an accident where a brief and regrettable moment of inattention has killed someone on their way to work; when all that has happened and you’re being abusive about your ridiculous, deadly, oversized, eyesore of memorial being removed, then you are grieving like an asshole.