Local children yesterday laid out 251 white crosses, one for each person killed on the roads so far this year, in the grounds of St Saviour's Church in Ballybeg, Co Waterford.
The project, entitled "People, not numbers", resembled a military cemetery in Normandy with rows upon rows of white crosses. Mary Long of Ballybeg Community Education Project said the children were motivated by a sense of hopelessness about road carnage.
"There was a report in the paper about how 100 people had died on the roads. We were asking them to visualise 100 people and what it would be like if someone from their own family was killed. They were shocked by that and wanted to do something to show these are people that are dying, not just numbers," she said.
Twelve-year old Billy Coady said it took the group two days to paint the crosses. "If this can save one person's life then it will be a success," he said.
Ballybeg Community Education Project is a community-based after-school education programme.