Ghost bike memorials are a somber reminder of the importance of safe driving.
How many of you are aware of the story behind the white bikes found in different streets of San Francisco? You might have come across a few of them if you live in the city. You might have seen a picture on the internet when surfing.
Or, you may not know what it is. Ghost Bikes are broken/ mangled bikes painted in white color and chained to a post on streets. These bikes represent death. They symbolize the life lost by a cyclist due to a road accident.
You will find small notes attached to the bikes at times. You might see white shoes too in some places. These shoes belong to those who were hit by a speeding vehicle.
These memorials are used as signs to tell people who accidents happen and how many innocents of all age groups and genders have lost their lives. On the 1st of Sep, these memorials were put up throughout San Francisco to mourn the loss of precious lives due to freak accidents.
Along with the bikes was a QR code, which when scanned, will provide the information of the person who died in that spot. A total of 117 people who died in the last five years in the city were remembered on that day.
Road accidents have been happening for decades. Despite the advancement in technology and the use of the latest gadgets, devices, and vehicles, we haven’t been able to control or prevent road accidents. Pedestrians and cyclists have many times breathed their last because a speeding vehicle failed to notice their presence.
While the roads have become safer for those on them, they have become dangerous for people on the outside. It’s past time that the world, especially the IT industry, did something about it. Can’t technology save lives when it is capable of so much already?
Remembering the dead and praying for their soul is not enough. The Important way to mourn them is to find a way to prevent such accidents from happening. And the work has begun. Professionals and people who care are coming together to do something about it.
By establishing a platform, they are striving to use technology in various ways to keep the cyclists and pedestrians alive by making roads a safer place. Let’s make sure not to create any more memorials on the streets. Let’s save lives instead.