[Zuben Elgenubi]

had been placing flowers for previous train victim

Exactly when did this public display of flowers on death sites (not gravesites) begin?

I'll show my age by stating that I do not ever recall this act as a young man. Seemed to start around the mid-1990's. Up till then, this practice was confined to 3rd world countries.

Yours truly,
A curmudgeon.

[DesertRhino]

I’m with you. It started when the Mexicans started flooding in. It’s just another south-of-the-border thing that spread across the country now.

[hanamizu]

Curmudgeon,

I remember seeing crosses (not flowers) alongside rural highways where people had died in the 50s. This was in the west, so there might have been a spread of a common Mexican idea. The crosses did serve a purpose in the sense that if you saw a lot of them in a particular place, you might want to slow down.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I agree. If I need to get anywhere, I take a State Highway that has had numerous accidents through the years. It’s a straight shot, not hard to drive, but still, things happen.

I find the roadside ‘memorials’ a distraction when driving. You can’t HELP but look at them, and there are enough distractions when driving as it is.

There ought to be a law against them!

Yours Truly,

A. Nother Curmudgeon

[Deaf Smith]

I remember W Texas roadside memorials when a kid in the early 60's, thought they were actual graves.

Thought it was a odd place to bury someone next to bridge railing or a culvert.

[TexasGator]

“Seemed to start around the mid-1990’s”

I remember it back in the 1950’s