How To Make a Ghost Tire
A ghost tire is a small and somber memorial for a life lost to speeding on our roads. The inspiration having come from ghost bike memorials.
Ghost tire memorials are fairly simple to make from materials found at your local hardware store as well as a salvaged tire.
You do not need any permits or permissions to put one up - unless you want to install it on private property, in which case you do need permission.
You can get a tire donation from a local car mechanic, who often have old, unused tires and are happy to donate one. Otherwise you will need paint, a lock and chain, and any other memorabilia you would like to decorate your tire with. The total cost is between $25 - $50.
Below you will find examples of various ghost tire configurations you may want to use. These were done with 2 lives lost to speeding in mind, if there was one or more, the amount of icons or shoes would decrease/increase as the case may be.
And, just as with ghost bikes, you can decorate the tire as you see is appropriate and authentic to the life you are memorializing, but the minimum would be the white tire along with a name/s and the date of the collision.
Examples of Ghost Tire Configurations
Step by Step
Safety note:
Spray paint is toxic. Wear a mask and gloves and never use spray paint indoors. Always use good, waterproof paint. Lay down cloth or cardboard in your outdoor paint area so as to protect the ground and surrounding objects from paint spray.
Clean the Tire
After gathering your materials, the first step is to clean the outside of the tire. This is so as to get off the grit and grime that will prevent your paint from sticking.
Start Painting
Paint a white primer coat all over one side of your tire. Wait for it to dry. Then flip it and paint the other side.
Once this is fully dry give your tire a thorough paint coat - getting into the various crevasses of the tire, but not so heavy that it drips. Once fully dry, repeat on the other side.
This should be enough to coat your tire, if it is not, repeat with another paint coat until you are satisfied with how it looks.
Paint shoes or anything else you’re using
If you are using shoes, or other such memorabilia, paint these as well. We suggest paying attention to painting out any brand names/marks. You may need to use several coats to get the desired coverage.
Paint in Any Icons You Would Like
If you would like to add icons to represent the lives lost, you would do this now - after the tire is fully dry. If you would like, you can download this pedestrian icon, print it out, and cut out the center of the icon along the dotted lines (as done in these photos.) If you print it on regular paper, spray it in sections being careful to hold down the paper around that section (and definitely wear gloves!)
Write in Names or Make a Plaque
Next, you can make a simple plaque or write the person’s name and date when their life was taken on the tire directly. We found that a felt tip marker does not work well for this job, but a paint pen does work - especially oil-based, such as Pebeo 4Artist Marker, Krink, DecoColor or something similar. You can also hand paint it on if you’d prefer.
Alternatively, you could make a plaque and post it on or near the ghost tire. Taking a suggestion from ghostbikes.org: “Many ghost bike plaques are simply laminated computer printouts. Painting by hand, stenciling, silkscreening [on a metal plate], and other techniques can be time intensive but produce beautiful results.”
On many Ghost Tires that have been done, family and friends choose to sign the tire with messages or decorate it with symbology. Be as creative as you wish!
Place and Decorate Your Ghost Tire
Take your ghost tire to a pole at or near the location of the collision, a street sign is often best. Make sure it is not blocking pedestrian, bike or car passage and that it is not locked to any public works (like a street light). Chain and lock it to the pole, this will give it a better chance of staying installed.
Add candles, flowers, shoes, the plaque, and/or any other items you would like to add to memorialize the victim of reckless speeding.
As has been done with ghost bikes in New York City, street sign posts have been used to bolt a plaque in place: “Standard-issue sign poles have pre-drilled 3/8” holes spaced 1 inch apart. We bolt the plaques into place using ¼” bolts and nuts, then bend the bolts or mar the threading with vice grips. Bending or otherwise damaging the bolts makes them harder to remove.” This can be done with a plaque accompanying your ghost tire.