Giant Jesus Prevents Auto Accidents

Status: Unlikely (though the people who think it does won't care what I say)
image Along I-75 in Ohio there stands a 62-foot-tall fiberglass and styrofoam statue of Jesus, his hands raised into the air. It's very visible from the highway. Nicknames for it include Super Savior, Touchdown Jesus, Drowning Jesus (because it's located in front of a reflecting pool), and Jeeebus. It was completed last summer, and according to rumor there have been no accidents along the stretch of highway in front of it, although previously many accidents occurred there. Apparently Giant Jesus made the highway safe. Can this be true? According to an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, it is true that section of I-75 used to be quite deadly:

Officials at the Ohio Department of Transportation say about 87,000 vehicles pass the statue each day, and they agree that it was a deadly section of highway. In 2000 and 2001, the agency’s records show, 14 people were killed.

And since the arrival of Jesus, the deaths have stopped. So interpret that however you want. But the Department of Transportation isn't attributing the declining accident rate to divine intervention:

To halt the deaths, the state spent $1.1 million to install a cable that runs down the median. The cable barrier is designed to stop vehicles before they can cross into oncoming traffic. "Ten fatalities were crossover accidents," said Jay Hamilton, the highway agency traffic engineer who designed the barrier. "It was a highly deadly stretch of Ohio highway. Not anymore."... "I honestly think that Jesus can perform miracles, but I don’t think the statue was the miracle out here," he said. "It was the barrier."

Places Religion

Posted on Tue Sep 20, 2005



Comments

Funny you should mention that, I drive by that statue on a regular basis. It might actually attribute to the fewer fatalities because traffic slows down as people drive by it. Considering how long it has been up and how large it is, I am amazed it hasn't been vandalized yet.
Posted by Chris Carlisle  on  Tue Sep 20, 2005  at  06:10 PM
How long has the statue been up?
Posted by Winona  on  Tue Sep 20, 2005  at  10:05 PM
Winona said:

"How long has the statue been up?"

That's a bit personal, don't you think?
Posted by Cranky Media Guy  on  Wed Sep 21, 2005  at  01:17 AM
"I honestly think that Jesus can perform miracles, but I don
Posted by Nick  on  Wed Sep 21, 2005  at  04:08 AM
I was going to comment similarly to what Captain P said...

Although, just the opposite is true for other roadside "shows". A lot of accidents happen when people slow down b/c of another roadway accident. (It's not the slowing itself, but the rubbernecker slows b/c they want to see, traffic behind them is not aware there is a problem -b/c the actual accident is cleared from the roadway- and the sudden stop causes a rearend situation.)
Posted by Maegan  on  Wed Sep 21, 2005  at  04:52 AM
"Touch-down Jesus"? Footballs been around that long? Can't be "drowning Jesus", the bible says he WALKED on water...
Posted by Christopher  on  Wed Sep 21, 2005  at  05:01 AM
With rubbernecking, only the first few cars in front can see the scene while the line of cars behind are oblivious. The statue is huge, so there is a collective traffic slowdown.

Being from the area, that section of highway really isn't given much credence as a trecherous driving area, the road is flat and straight.

In Monroe, the next exit south of the statue is a Hustler Hollywood store which opened in 2002/2003, about the same time the traffic deaths diminished. Perhaps Larry Flint is the reason for fewer traffic deaths.
Posted by Chris Carlisle  on  Wed Sep 21, 2005  at  06:48 AM
" Perhaps Larry Flint is the reason for fewer traffic deaths."

All hail Larry Flynt!
Posted by Nigel  on  Wed Sep 21, 2005  at  07:22 AM
Our Father, who art in Vegas
Pornmeister be thy Name,
thy kingdom cum,
thy slut be done,
on earth as it is on TV.
Give us this day our daily orgy
And forgive us our STD's,
as we forgive those
who infect against us.
And lead us not into salvation,
but deliver us from Pat Robertson.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Posted by Charybdis  on  Wed Sep 21, 2005  at  09:49 AM
:lol: Perfect, Chary!
Posted by Winona  on  Wed Sep 21, 2005  at  09:58 AM
Hmmm, I think I am going to have to add my contribution to this thread to my trip to the confessional this week!
Posted by Chris Carlisle  on  Wed Sep 21, 2005  at  11:13 AM
We call him "Quicksand Jesus" when we drive by.

Hey, Quicksand Jesus -- grab this stick, before it's too late! Don't struggle, you'll only make it worse!

The reduction in accidents in that particular corridor of I-75 could possibly also be attributed to the fact they've beefed up traffic enforcement in that stretch of road. There's just about always a state patrolman with a laser unit sitting one side or the other of Quicksand Jesus.

That couldn't have anything to do with traffic slowing and fewer accidents, now could it?
Posted by Philostopher  on  Wed Sep 21, 2005  at  10:51 PM
I would have thought it would have caused more accidents due to people looking at a f**king huge jesus statue instead of looking at the road.
Posted by Dave  on  Fri Sep 23, 2005  at  07:48 AM
i drive by that on my way to turtle creek in dayton. its an awsome structure and i dont belive a statue is the reason theres not as many wrecks maybe the real jesus but hey they drive like morons there any ways.


Zach Hill

London Oh
Posted by Zach  on  Fri Sep 23, 2005  at  08:06 AM
Touchdown Jesus has nothing to do with the traffic issues. They installed a new type of crash barrier. The majority of the accidents were from cross over accidents. They also are heavily patrolling the area during the high accident times.

There have been several accidents that were caused because people pulled over and wanted to check out the Touchdown Jesus.
Posted by John Quigley  on  Wed Sep 28, 2005  at  05:52 AM
check out http://www.obgloid.com
-all about touchdown jesus
Posted by obgloid  on  Wed Oct 19, 2005  at  07:47 PM
I pass that statue almost everyday. The money they spent on that thing could have fed a lot of hungary children, housed several Katrina victims families, built a new library for the city schools, implemented research on cancer or even fixed the roads to prevent accidents along I-75. It hasn't effected the accidents along that stretch. Coincidentally, there has not been one directly in front of the church. However, the road is fixed in front of the church and there are still a lot of accidents in that area. Well, I guess some rich guys eye-sore is more important than contributing money to those in need anyway. This just goes to show the arrogance of Lawrence Bishop. If this is the Christian way, I'd rather be an Atheist...
Posted by jason  on  Tue Jun 12, 2007  at  04:03 PM
The accidents have reduced because everyone slows down to increase the time they have to gaze at the enormous waste of money. If I am not mistaken, in the Bible it does mention for Christians not to be "showy". So, Giant Jesus and flashy signs are .... not showy? Because it sure it show stopping for all of the travelers on I-75.
Posted by Amanda Dotson  on  Thu Aug 30, 2007  at  10:43 PM
Yeah, something to do with the 10 commandments.

2nd Commandment; Verses 4-6: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_10c7.htm

Score...
Solid Rock Church: 0
Posted by jason  on  Sat Sep 01, 2007  at  02:15 PM
thanks, jason.

it's ridiculous. forcing jesus upon travellers. if i were driving by and i had a different religious affiliation, i think i'd be offended. then again, i am a christian and i am offended.

but in solid rock's defense, it sure is great when i am driving home for breaks from school and i pass that terrific landmark. i know i'm close to home.
Posted by Amanda  on  Sun Nov 04, 2007  at  07:47 PM
That statue is GONE!

It was struck by lightning and burned down.
Nothin left but the metal frame. It's creepy because I used to pass by that statue a lot and to see its absence, replaced by a chared frame. The frame itself still resembles the statue's hands up in the sky in a freakish way. But this really shocked me.
Posted by Monica  on  Tue Jun 15, 2010  at  05:14 PM
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