Ghost Bike Memorials for World Day of Remembrance

What is World Day of Remembrance? 

We celebrate birthdays, reflect on Memorial Day, give thanks on Thanksgiving, and come together on various national holidays. Now on every third Sunday of November, we recognize the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims “in recognition of road traffic victims and their families’ loss and suffering.”

As you can see from the World Health Organization’s poster about road traffic injury statistics, 54% of those deaths have recorded to be pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. At Fuicelli & Lee, it’s our priority to not only make your health and well-being a priority, but to recognize those who have been affected in the past, and try to prevent future catastrophic accidents. Let’s take a look at one way we can reflect this November. 

Bringing Remembrance to Cyclists 

It’s one thing to see some flowers or a cross on the side of a road, but it’s something entirely different to see a Ghost Bike Memorial. Also known as a Ghostcycle or WhiteCycle, Ghost Bikes are dignified and somber memorials for bicyclists killed on the streets. A bicycle painted all white is locked near the crash site accompanied by a small plaque or sign in hopes to bring awareness to both drivers and cyclists.  

As you can see from the images below, these memorials all take on their own reflections. Some are clean with a clear sign, others are decorated with other memorabilia, flowers, or written messages. For more information on the Ghost Bike Project, here’s a great resource from Leeds that advocates its purpose by helping people navigate some FAQs. 

Small Changes for a Larger Impact 

So, how do we help prevent these accidents and see fewer Ghost Bikes? By brushing up on some bicycle safety tips and common misconceptions, we can all do our part. Here are some quick bike safety tips to remember before your next bike ride: 

• Check Your Bike Regularly: Make sure your wheels, handlebars, brakes, and bike chain are working properly. Some coworking spaces (like Shift Workspaces) and apartment complexes offer bike services for your convenience and safety. 
• Obey All Traffic Laws: Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children says it best, “A bicycle is a vehicle and you are a driver. When you ride in the street, obey all traffic signs, signals, and lane markings.” This also means yielding to traffic when appropriate.  
• Plan Your Route: The DOT is planning on investing in multiple bikeways “To ensure our bikeways are comfortable and safe for people of all ages and abilities.”  Check out their current maps here. It’s always a good idea to know where you’re going, but this also hints at biking in a predictable manner and not weaving through traffic. 

Denver’s Bicycle Accident Attorney 

We’re here to advocate for your safety, and protect you in any way we can. As a boutique law firm, we don’t measure our success by the volume of cases we handle, but by the difference we make in our clients’ lives. We hope you learned some helpful bike safety tips as we reflect on World Remembrance Day.  

If you’re curious, here’s a quick reference for more information covering common bicycle accident cases in the Denver metro area.