State transportation officials say a new program will help address a growing safety concern along Georgia’s roads.

You see them everywhere - roadside signs or markers in memory of a loved one killed in a traffic accident. But state Department of Transportation officials say there’s a hazard - for drivers looking at the memorials, and those visiting a roadside marker.

The DOT’s David Spear says this new program will allow people to buy memorial markers from the department and have them installed. And he says officials hope to balance two delicate concerns:

“Maintaining some degree of control over the sorts of markers that are on our roadways and where they are, as well as recognizing the desire of families of a deceased person to have some sort of memorial.”

DOT officials say for a fee of $100, family and friends can request a “Drive Safely—In Memory of” sign, which would include an inscription of the person's name. The round, 15-inch marker would stay in place for one year, after which it would be given to the requesting sponsor.

State DOT maintenance personnel will erect the sign at the edge of the mowing limits as close as practical to the scene of the incident (except in active construction zones or if prohibited by local laws).

Spear says the entire $100 fee goes to the making and installation of the markers. He says several other states are starting similar programs.

Family or friends (with approval of immediate family) of individuals killed in accidents on federal and state routes on or after July 1, 2010, may request a sign by submitting a written application, the pertinent accident report and the $100 fee to the Department’s Maintenance Engineer (contact and relevant information as well as forms available at: http://www.dot.ga.gov/doingbusiness/PoliciesManuals/pap/Documents/Polic…).

Contributors: Information from Georgia Department of Transportation press release

Tags: DOT, Georgia Department of Transportation, memorial signs, markers, roadside markers, traffic fatalities, traffic deaths