???????????????????????????????????????????????????? A CROSS MARKS THE SPOT: A STUDY OF ROADSIDE DEATH MEMORIALS IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA ???????????????????????????????????????????????????? JON K. REID Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, Oklahoma, USA CYNTHIA L. REID Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas, USA Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) resulting in death have been a seriousconcern for many years. However, the placement of roadside death memorials (RDMs) at collision sites has become increasingly common in the United States, in the memorialization of those deceased because of MVCs. This practice has been used in numerous countries for hun- dreds of years. Of the 78 sites observed, most were for males whose deaths had occurred in thepastyearandwereplacedbybothfamilymembersandfriends.Thesitesincludethe use of a cross and flowers whose meaning is obvious; however numerous other artifacts are found, the meaning of which is less obvious. Some of the functions served by these memor- ials are to prolong the memory of the deceased in a public place and to communicate with the deceased and to society. RDMs are used by mourners as a way of coping with the sud- den and tragic nature of deaths from MVCs. Some claim never to see them, some are angered by them, some place them by the side of the road and never go back, others tend them regu- larly. Roadside memorials placed at the site of an auto fatality evoke a myriad of feelings for both the bereaved and for the passersby. Motor vehicle accidents resulting in death for passengers and=or drivers have been a public health and safety concern for many years. However, the placement of roadside death memorials (RDMs) at collision sites has Received 22 April 1999; accepted 22 April 1999. This study was funded in part through an internal grant from the office of Organized Research at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, Oklahoma. Address correspondence to John K. Reid, SOSU, Box 4021, Durant, OK 74701 7 0609. 341 Death Studies, 25: 341 7 356, 2001 Copyright Ó 2001 Brunner-Routledge 0748-1187/01 $12.00 + .00