Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Ghost Bike

Basta morti sulla strada, stop road deaths, ghost bike, piazza del Municipio, Livorno
These white bikes are called ‘ghost bikes’ and are intended as memorials for bicyclists killed or hit on the street. I saw my first one four years ago in New York City and I was quite impressed by the idea. The sign says “Basta morti sulla strada” (Stop road deaths) and the bicycle is locked at the rack of the Palazzo Granducale, just opposite Town Hall. By the way, please note the thriving weeds all around the place...

External links: Ghost bike (Wikipedia)

19 comments:

Luis Gomez said...

These are so sad.

Dianne said...

I've never seen one of these ghost. Bikes .... it would certainly make people think before they hop on their bike.

"Adelaide and Beyond"

Anonymous said...

A thoughtful reminder, people will hopefully stumble over.

Please have a kind Tuesday.

RedPat said...

A young male schoolteacher was killed on his bike here last week! So sad.

Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger said...

Interesting, first time I've come across one of these ghost bikes. I'm a cyclist myself.

Michelle said...

A sad memorial.

Kate said...

Better yet, I'd hope that it would be a reminder for drivers to watch for cyclists. I saw the first one years ago not far from our neighborhood, and it stayed for several years. Although it's a fitting memorial, there's something about it, though, that I find a little creepy.

Chattahoochee Valley Daily said...

Never seen one of these before. Interesting and sad.

Jack said...

Yes, I have seen several of these. I posted about them about a year ago. They are sad, but I don't know if they reach the motorists (and cyclists) who are careless.

Randy said...

I like it better than a headstone.

Lucy Corrander - M2 Photos said...

It's beautiful and a good idea . . . as long as it helps increase road safety awareness rather than put people off cycling.

I'm impressed by the 'weeds'. I like to see wild plants in cities. It's one of my enthusiasms!

Another thing I like - the new style for your blog. I was, yesterday, thinking I'd like a narrow header for mine but only know how to include large ones. If you were prepared to advise how you achieved it - whether by template or ingenuity, I'd be specially grateful.

Dina said...

It is a sad reminder of the danger on the streets.

Gunn said...

I have never seen anything like it. Quite nice and a strong and important message.

cieldequimper said...

Weeds are plants too but all I can see are the red roses...

Taken For Granted said...

There are several white bikes I know about in the U.S. Midwest which are memorials for bicyclists run down and killed by careless drivers. Thank you for the post. Hope it reminds people to drive more carefully, especially when I'm riding my bike.

Stefan Jansson said...

I have seen a few in Stockholm. A sad reminder about how the traffic works.

Unknown said...

A great reminder! I haven't seen any of these here.

Halcyon said...

Very sad. I think the streets of Toronto would be overrun if they did this here.

Traveling Hawk said...

Impressive! Necer seen one of these.