Funeral Processions and Red Lights

[Eutychus]

I realize this question may have regional implications.

I had to go to a funeral this morning. It was a fairly long procession of cars and going through a few stop lights I wondered what I'd do if the light turned red. I didn't have to deal with it as it turned red a few cars in front of me and here we are all happily going through the red light. We also had to go the wrong way up a one way street to get to the church. It may have been more of a courtesy thing, I guess. But do funeral processions have a legal right to ignore traffic signals and signs to get to their destination?

[Reeder]

Did you have a police escort? If you did you are probably OK. But if not, I don't believe there is anything in the law that allows it as such. Except for common courtesy.

[Boyo Jim]

Here's (http://www.dot.state.wi.us/dsp/00lawofmon.htm#February, 2000) the WI State Highway Patrol's interpretation.

Yes, if the lead vehicle gets through a light legally, the rest may follow so long as their headlights are on.

I think going the wrong way on a one-way street is a no-no, however.

[Muffin]

Depends on the law of your state/province. In mine, Ontario, it is courtesy only. (Used to work in a funeral home, and now a lawyer).

[BobT]

I would just think that as long as the police are leading you through the light, there isn't any violation or problem with it. That's why you rent out a cop to lead the procession.

Normally, in addition to having your headlights on, there is a little placard that says "FUNERAL" that you put on your dashboard or in the rear window.

[WSLer]

Funny story about this. My uncle died in August 1998, and the funeral was on a Friday morning. There was a LONG procession of cars that was going through town, and we had a police escort of sorts. Some yabo who was going to the beach decided to join our little procession so that he wouldn't have to stop at red lights like everybody else. that worked nicely until the cops caught on, at which point they forced him to follow the procession ALL the way from the church to the cemetary, (about 30 miles) and then made him wait until after the graveside service was over and all of the other cars had left to go to the wake.

Asshole.

My only dream was that he drove into a ditch and killed himself on the way to the beach that day.

[Diceman]

Here in Michigan, all the cars in the funeral procession have a little orange-and-black flag stuck on the hood or roof (there's a magnet in the base). The last car in the procession gets three or four flags on it. If the hearse makes the light, the entire procession can go through. You usually don't see any police escort, unless the person is a local celebrity or something.

[Swede Hollow]

In Saint Paul there is usually a motorcycle cop that runs into an intersection, signals for all traffic to yield to the funeral procession and then races to the next intersection before the lead car reaches it. Those guys are impressive to watch (they even do it in Minnesota winters!). Usually only the first several cars have the flags (basically the immediate family only).

[Duck Duck Goose]

In Illinois, if you're in a funeral procession, you don't even need a little flag--all you have to do is turn on your headlights, and you're allowed to cruise right on through the red lights.

Actually, the funeral director will tell you to do it, because otherwise he's likely to lose half his procession at the first red light, and some people might not know the way to the gravesite and end up missing the ceremony. So they tell you, "Turn on your lights, and keep moving."

Unless there's an ambulance or fire engine coming, of course.

Also, if you're not officially part of the procession, you're not allowed to budge into line in between folks who DO have their headlights on, thereby indicating "funeral procession".

And if you're not officially part of the procession, you're not allowed to turn on your headlights and latch on behind in order to jump the red light. Not the straight bat, don't you know...


http://www.legis.state.il.us/ilcs/ch625/ch625act5articles/ch625act5Sub59.htm
(625 ILCS 5/11-1420)
Sec. 11-1420. Funeral processions.

(a) Funeral processions have the right-of-way at intersections when
vehicles comprising such procession have their headlights lighted,
subject to the following conditions and exceptions:

1. Operators of vehicles in a funeral procession shall yield
the right-of-way upon the approach of an authorized emergency
vehicle giving an audible or visible signal;

2. Operators of vehicles in a funeral procession shall yield
the right-of-way when directed to do so by a traffic officer;

3. The operator of the leading vehicle in a funeral procession
shall comply with stop signs and traffic control signals but when
the leading vehicle has proceeded across an intersection in
accordance with such signal or after stopping as required by the
stop sign, all vehicles in such procession may proceed without
stopping, regardless of the sign or signal and the leading vehicle
and the vehicles in procession shall proceed with due caution.

(b) The operator of a vehicle not in the funeral procession shall
not drive his vehicle in the funeral procession except when authorized
to do so by a traffic officer or when such vehicle is an authorized
emergency vehicle giving audible or visible signal.

(c) Operators of vehicles not a part of a funeral procession may
not form a procession or convoy and have their headlights lighted for
the purpose of securing the right-of-way granted by this Section to
funeral processions.

(d) The operator of a vehicle not in a funeral procession may
overtake and pass the vehicles in such procession if such overtaking and
passing can be accomplished without causing a traffic hazard or
interfering with such procession.

(e) The lead vehicle in the funeral procession may be equipped with
a flashing amber light which may be used only when such vehicle is used
as a lead vehicle in such procession. Vehicles comprising a funeral
procession may utilize funeral pennants or flags or windshield stickers
or flashing hazard warning signal flashers to identify the individual
vehicles in such a procession.
(Source: P.A. 90-58, eff. 1-1-98.)
Usually only the first few cars (the "family" cars) are given the little pennants.

[WillGolfForFood]

Same thing in Pennsylvania as in the other states being reported - once the first car in a funeral procession makes it through an intersection, the rest have the right of way.

[tarpal]

I lived in the South for awhile. One day a big funeral procession came by, going the opposite (oncoming) way on the road. Next thing I know, all the cars in front of me pulled way over the the right and stopped. I looked behind me, thinking maybe there was an emergency vehicle coming but there wasn't. So I pulled around the stopped cars and just kept driving. One of the motorists who had pulled over gave me the finger as I passed! I'm thinking, "wtf"?

Turns out that they have some stupid custom down there that BOTH lanes should pull over "to show respect", doesn't matter that the drivers have no idea who the deceased is.

I continued to ignore this custom while I lived there. My continuing to drive to my destination while a funeral procession passes in the left lane does not affect the procession in the least.

[flapcats]

I'd never considered this before (having only been to countryside funerals) but on Friday I saw a hearse approach a junction (no traffic lights) the second FD got out of the hearse and marched slowly infront of his car across the road until it was across. No idea what the 'rules' are in the UK mind.

[pravnik]

Originally posted by tarpal
I lived in the South for awhile. One day a big funeral procession came by, going the opposite (oncoming) way on the road. Next thing I know, all the cars in front of me pulled way over the the right and stopped. I looked behind me, thinking maybe there was an emergency vehicle coming but there wasn't. So I pulled around the stopped cars and just kept driving. One of the motorists who had pulled over gave me the finger as I passed! I'm thinking, "wtf"?

Turns out that they have some stupid custom down there that BOTH lanes should pull over "to show respect", doesn't matter that the drivers have no idea who the deceased is.

I continued to ignore this custom while I lived there. My continuing to drive to my destination while a funeral procession passes in the left lane does not affect the procession in the least.

Except by pissing us off.

[tarpal]

Originally posted by pravnik


Except by pissing us off. It's a stupid custom. I lived in Columbia, the state capitol and, I think, the biggest city in the state (SC). Excuse me, but hundreds of people die in that city every frickin day. I don't know them. Why on earth should I pull over and stop my car every time a funeral procession for someone I DON'T EVEN KNOW passes by going the opposite direction? Why? It's not like by continuing to drive that I am interfering with the procession, they are in the other frickin lane.

[pravnik]

You don't know them, but someone does. If you're in a funeral procession down here and you see strangers taking a minute out of their day to pull over and pay your deceased friend or relative respect, it's touching somehow. It reaffirms your faith in humanity a little bit. I live in a city roughly 18 times the size of Columbia, but people still generally do this when possible. It doesn't happen often enough to be a major inconvienience. For example, if hundreds of people died every day in Columbia, the city would be gone in less than three years.

I'm not saying that everyone should follow this tradition, but it is a tradition here. It doesn't matter if you think someone else's culture or tradition is stupid. Intentionally bellitiling their funerary rites and knowingly disregarding them because you think they're just a bunch of stupid yokels with a bunch of stupid traditions is arrogant and disrespectful.

Apologies to the OP for any hijack.

[pravnik]

My apologies to tarpal as well. I got a little too hot under the collar and worded my response more strongly than I should have.

[Chris Luongo]

I know that people always ask this question as a joke: "What do they do if the funeral procession is at night? Do they drive with their lights off?"

I know the question sounds silly, but I'd love to know the answer. Maybe most religions prohibit night funerals anyway?

[Mr2001]

My car has daytime running lights. Do I need to turn them to full intensity if I'm ever part of a funeral procession, or is half intensity OK?

[Motog]

It wasn't Mr Gotti's funeral procession was it? If it was, I suspect you could have done whatever you frickin' pleased.

[UDS]

I'm with [b]pravnik[/i] on this. Unless you have some very well-grounded objection to other people's funeral customs, you should respect them even if you don't share them. It's common decency.

[Iyamity]

I grew up in rural Saskatchewan, Canada's equivalent to pravnik's SC. When there was a funeral procession there, we were taught to go all out, if we met one. We would pull over to the right, turn on our headlights, the men would remove their hats, and wait until the procession was gone. Of course, in my town, we usually knew the person who had died, and most of the cars on town were already in the procession.

[Boyo Jim]

Originally posted by tarpal
It's a stupid custom. I lived in Columbia, the state capitol and, I think, the biggest city in the state (SC). Excuse me, but hundreds of people die in that city every frickin day. I don't know them. Why on earth should I pull over and stop my car every time a funeral procession for someone I DON'T EVEN KNOW passes by going the opposite direction? Why? It's not like by continuing to drive that I am interfering with the procession, they are in the other frickin lane.

I'm with you on this. Stopping for funeral traffic going the OTHER way is ridiculous. Unless it's the law, and I'm subject to a ticket for NOT doing it. In that case it's still ridiculous, but I'd do it to avoid the ticket.

If a dead person rises to object to my disrespect, I'll reconsider.

[Eve]

A well-meant idea whose time has come and gone. The funeral procession was perfectly reasonable 100y ears ago, when there were no traffic lights, and there was a hell of a lot less traffic. But now they are simply dangerous. I live near a cemetery, and I frequently see pedestrians (myself indcluded) and other cars dodge out of the way at the last second because a line of cars is whzzing madly through a red light. There is never a police escort, and by the time the lead car has passed—two or three minutes ago—us newcomers are completely off-guard.

Yes, sure, I feel sorry for people who have lost a loved one—but for chrissakes, pay your respects at the funeral, pay your respects at the grave—but in between, drive carefully and safely.

[tarpal]

Unless you have some very well-grounded objection to other people's funeral customs, you should respect them
I do have a well-grounded objection: pulling over for an oncoming funeral is STUPID and a waste of my time.

[UDS]

This takes up how much of your time? Thirty seconds? A minute, tops?

Set that against your neighbour’s feelings. Set it against an opportunity to make a small show of support for a greiving stranger. An acknowledgment of what other people are going through right now. A recognition that death and grieving in the community affect us all, in our time, and that we feel for one another when it happens.

The whole point about the gesture is that it’s not done for the convenience of the oncoming funeral procession. In that sense, it has no practical value at all. It is purely symbolic, and it symbolises an acknowledgement of death, of grief and of the pain of separation that some stranger is suffering, and that you have suffered or will suffer in your time.

It may not be an entirely rational symbol, but it’s the symbol adopted by the community in which you have chosen to live. But you reject it. You refuse to participate in it.

I wonder what it is you do with the thirty seconds you save by zipping past the funeral procession. I’m sure, whatever it is, it’s much more important than making a small expression of support and sympathy for a greiving neighbour.

[AtomicDog]

Originally posted by UDS
This takes up how much of your time? Thirty seconds? A minute, tops?


It may not be an entirely rational symbol, but it’s the symbol adopted by the community in which you have chosen to live. But you reject it. You refuse to participate in it.



It is also entirely impractical in a metro area with more than a million people and streets choked with traffic, like Atlanta is. I'll let them proceed through intersections, and I won't cut through a procession, but I won't pull over for them coming the other way.

[UDS]

According to Tarpal, the custom is observed in Columbia. He doesn't say anything about Atlanta. Plainly, it's not impractical in Columbia, becuase it is in practice observed. Tarpal's account makes it clear that he was in the minority in not observing it.

[Knighted Vorpal Sword]

Here in Maryland, stickers are put on each vehicle, and drivers are told to put on bright headlights and flashers. Once the hearse is through, all the other cars get to go through red lights as well.

[Boyo Jim]

Originally posted by UDS
According to Tarpal, the custom is observed in Columbia. He doesn't say anything about Atlanta. Plainly, it's not impractical in Columbia, becuase it is in practice observed. Tarpal's account makes it clear that he was in the minority in not observing it.

There is Law, and there is Custom. I am obliged to follow the law, I am NOT obliged to follow custom. And I couldn't care less that I'm in the "minority" because of it. tarpal is right. There is no point to stopping in the circumstances described.

Plus, I believe this "herd instinct", the need to conform, is one of the evils of human nature. We get ourselves into all kinds of trouble because we too easily suspend our own judgement in favor of someone else's. But I suppose that's another thread.

[UDS]

Originally posted by yojimboguy


And I couldn't care less that I'm in the "minority" because of it. tarpal is right. There is no point to stopping in the circumstances described.


The point to stopping, yojimboguy, is that you care enough about how other people feel to make this small gesture. If you don't care enough then, I agree, there is no point to stopping.

[Eve]

What about the fact that—in this day and age, with our heavy traffic and fast cars—funeral processions going through red lights is dangerous? As I said, I have had to duck out of the way of cars going through red lights, and I have seen cars swerve onto the sidewalk in my neighborhood. Once the lead car goes through, there is really no way of telling that the last two or three cars are part of a procession.

I repeat: a sweet custom whose time has passed.

[pravnik]

Generally, if they go through red lights here, they have police motorcycle escorts.

[Eutychus]

Thanks for all the responses. As I suspected, it seems to be more of a matter of local ordinance than any consistant law throughout the land.

Once caveat please : whether one should pull over for a procession in the absence on any law requiring it is a matter for IMHO, or possibly Great Debates. If there are any more comments, please keep them to discussion of the legal ramifications. Or open up another thread for discussion of opinions or debate in one of the other forums.