# Wrecked cars on pedestals on the side of the highway **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 4, 2000, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135 "2000-03-04T09:52:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/1 "2000-03-04T09:52:00Z")
I have a very vague recollection from my youth of seeing totalled cars up on pedestals by the side of the highway. I only remember this because it would give me terrible nightmares. This was probably about 15 years ago alongside a major highway (possibly I-81) somewhere in southcentral Pennsylvania. At some point while I was still young, the cars were taken down. Does anyone know anything about this? Like why the cars were put there in the first place? And why they were taken down? Or did I just imagine the whole thing? It was so long ago, it almost seems like a dream. * * * I am the user formerly known as puffington. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/2 "2000-03-04T10:42:00Z")
Dunno about that, but on I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix, there is a tall metal post (several stories high) with a rusted out truck at the top that must have been new when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Never knew why it was there, still don’t. * * * – From an actual catalog" “Disco balls create an enchanting, dazzling effect of light shafts, adding movement and glamour to any occasion” _the Abrams’ bris was certainly memorable_ O p a l C a t [www.opalcat.com](http://www.opalcat.com) ---
**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/3 "2000-03-04T10:56:00Z")
I’ve seen them before. Usually there is an auto repair shop or salvage yard underneath it. Always thought it was a form of advertising. I think there is still one up around NY Rt.5 somewhere between Little Falls and Utica, though I’m not absolutely sure about that. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/4 "2000-03-04T13:06:00Z")
Prarie Du Chien has a trailer house displayed on a single metal pole. It’s about a 12 by 60 footer. Trailer dealership is by it. It was one of the few homes dry during their flood. I’v seen an actual home in the area made with one trailer stacked on the other with some sort of post structure suporting the top trailer. Around Tomah or Mauston there’s a half scale semi and trailer on end on a post, advertising for some semi related thing. A half scale semi and trailer is still a big sign. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/5 "2000-03-04T13:42:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I only remember this because it would give me terrible nightmares. Maybe that was the purpose? To warn about dangers of car accidents, that is. I remember a story about a high accident rate railway crossing, where they eventually left one of the totalled cars there as a warning. Got no cite though, so could be a UL. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/6 "2000-03-04T15:28:00Z")
There used to be a display like that in the median of the WV turnpike, along with a sign that had some witty catchphrase about the dangers of drunk driving. I don’t think it’s there anymore, though. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/7 "2000-03-04T15:31:00Z")
I’ve seen wrecked cars and cars on pedestals. The wrecked cars are usually there to mek people thing about the dangers of dunk driving. The ones on pedestals are usually advertising a wrecking yard or garage. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/8 "2000-03-04T16:43:00Z")
Here’s the famous “Cadillac Farm” of Amarllo, Texas. [http://www.todd.demon.co.uk/pictures/pages/sitcars.htm](http://www.todd.demon.co.uk/pictures/pages/sitcars.htm) Peace, mangeorge * * * I only know two things; I know what I need to know And I know what I want to know Mangeorge, 2000 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/9 "2000-03-04T19:53:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I remember a story about a high accident rate > railway crossing, where they eventually left one of the totalled cars there as a warning. Got no cite though, so could be a UL. Some organization (the NTSB? AAA?) occasionally stages train/vehicle crashes to illustrate the dangers of trying to beat a train. It is entirely possible that some of these wrecks were left behind for a while as a reminder. * * * “Age is mind over matter; if you don’t mind, it don’t matter.” -Leroy “Satchel” Paige ---
**Author:** ![Melatonin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@Melatonin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melatonin)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/10 "2000-03-04T19:58:00Z")
Drain- The I-77 vehicle is, in fact, still there. I see it every time I drive to Florida. In this particular case, the object of having the wrecked car perched above the highway is spelled out: “Sometimes it takes a family of four to stop a drunk driver.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/11 "2000-03-04T20:55:00Z")
My favourite anti-drunk-driving billboard depicted a car fully engulfed in flames. The caption read, “Toast a friend lately?” ---
**Author:** ![Dirty\_Devil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Dirty\_Devil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dirty_Devil)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/12 "2000-03-04T22:04:00Z")
On Hwy 101 near Ukiah (Northern California) there are about 10 old cars (we’re talking battle wagons here) from the fifties sitting by the side of the road. Each one of them has a very large tree growing up from the ground, through the car and out the middle of the roof. It’s a very strange sight the first time you see it. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrecked-cars-on-pedestals-on-the-side-of-the-highway/8135/13 "2000-03-05T17:32:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Drain- The I-77 vehicle is, in fact, still there. I see it every time I drive to Florida. > > In this particular case, the object of having the wrecked car perched above the highway is spelled out: > > “Sometimes it takes a family of four to stop a drunk driver.” Yes, that’s exactly the one that I remember. I’ll have to yell at Brian–he’s made the trip here that way several times, and I told him to look for it, but he claims it’s not there anymore. Hell, it’s so obvious that the driver of every car I’ve ever been in on that trip has noticed it (and sometimes at night), so I can’t see how he could miss it.