Warning! Children are playing.
A Utah man has created a “fake” memorial using a broken bike, devotional candles, flowers and photos of “kids” in an attempt to slow down speeding drivers on a dangerous highway near his home.
“It’s a very personal experience,” said David Smith, who built a mock shrine in Salt Lake City’s Murray neighborhood. Fox 13 He sees cars on the road every day going “60 miles per hour, twice the speed limit” and hopes to avoid terrible tragedies.
“I didn’t want to wait to put out pictures of kids that I know,” Smith told the outlet, “so I decided to put this out there to kind of slow everybody down a little bit.”
Smith said he used childhood photos of his friends, now in their 40s, and stomped on children’s bikes in his driveway to create powerful props for his so-called “art piece.”
Smith and other neighbors say the makeshift shrine appears to be functional.
“The moment we released this, people started stepping on the brakes where they used to step on the accelerator,” he told media.
Charles Andrews, who lives opposite the “work of art”, said he noticed cars slowing down before realising the shrine was fake and thought it was a “clever idea”.
“It helps me reflect on those who have experienced loss and I don’t want anyone to have to go through that,” Andrews told the outlet.
Smith understands that some people may feel uneasy when they realize the crude “memorial” is fake, but says it’s worth it to keep the neighborhood safe.
“I acknowledge there are bad feelings associated with this,” Smith explained.
“I probably feel the worst because I’m the one who had to build it and I’m the one who had to put it in front of my house and I don’t want that to happen.”
However, the wise Salt Lake City resident said he has no plans to demolish the shrine and intends to keep it standing.
“We’re going to continue this to keep people reminded that we’re all a community here and we need to look out for each other,” he told media.
“I would hate for your child to be the next victim.”
More than 42,000 people died in traffic accidents across the U.S. in 2022, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
More than 3% of the deaths were children under the age of 14.
That same year, more than 1,100 cyclists were killed in traffic accidents, about 5% of whom were children under the age of 14.
In 2022, an average of three children lost their lives and an estimated 429 children were injured in road crashes every day.
