It depends on the local population density. In major urban areas it’s uncommon to pull over. In lesser cities it’s hit or miss. More common in the podunks. Most people consider this to be a personal preference thing, not a must do.
The real issue people get on about is turning on your headlights for a funeral procession. Some think it’s a must do, others think it’s a must don’t (unless your are in the procession).
A coworker of my Dad’s once did this. When the procession got to the cemetery, he kept on going. And was promptly pulled over by the escort cop, who told him, “I saw you when you joined the procession, and I’ve been watching you. Now, you have a choice: get a ticket for every one of the fourteen red lights you went through. Or you can go to that funeral.” Ed chose the funeral.
FWIW, I have lived the past 15 years 2-4 blocks from one of Austin’s biggest and busiest funeral homes. I pass it or a block from it twice a day, six days a week. I can think of exactly 1 funeral procession that took place during normal morning or evening commute hours that held me up for a few minutes one time. Where do you live that there are so many funeral processions that it has stirred up such a wrath for local custom. I think that might bear some looking into.
Nope.
Where I’m currently living in NC they pull over to Funeral processions but not for Fire Trucks or Ambulances with their sirens and flashing lights on.
It makes me want to yell at the people pulling over for the funeral, “It’s too late now!”
That is like the most amazing argument EVAR! Wow. You just like…totally…blew my mind?
But what if every single deceased member of the human race posted in this thread? what if they did? The entire board structure would collapse and possibly the entire internet would break. :eek:.
:rolleyes:
I’m in Northern Virginia, and it isn’t a custom here. Funeral processions have to stop at traffic lights as well.
Traffic here is snarled and a mess here. I can’t imagine if people tried to pull over when a funeral procession passed.
In DC, funeral procession had right of way, and usually a police escort, so they could run lights, but People didn’t pull over when they passed.
I tell ya, while driving North on a two lane road to have cars suddenly and without warning pull over to the shoulder out of deference to a passing funeral motorcade going South pretty much rankled. Could it be a parade of speckled fawns were crossing the road what else could explain this sudden braking and swerving to pull over for a stream of cars that were in no way impeded by teh north bound lanes. But I did not pull over I passed those fuckers parked and waiting on the shoulder!
I imagine that in New Orleans, the brass band probably takes a while to sashay on by.
I suppose laws may vary by location, but I always thought the lead car (hearse) had to stop for traffic lights, but once it went through, the rest of the cars could follow even if the light turned red in the meantime. That way everyone stays together, which is important for reasons both ceremonial (it’s not much of a procession if everyone gets separated) and practical (so no one gets lost on the way to the cemetery).
That’s how I interpret it. I was in a super long procession for my friend last winter (over 50 miles) and we did stop at lights. There was also a motorcycle escort (my friend was their chaplain) and when our light would turn green, the bikes would stop in the middle of the intersection as the procession went through, and we would all keep going even if the light turned red. The motorcycles helped people remember not to be a butt and try to drive through our line.
I live in the midwest and I don’t pull over for funeral processions, fwiw. Nobody does. I don’t see what that accomplishes. But you don’t try to get in them, or follow them, or get ahead of them or turn through them. You don’t want a bunch of lost old ladies driving around your town looking for the cemetary!
This.
These little courtesies take such little effort but can mean a lot to someone else. So instead of saying, “Why?” I say, “Why not?”
And I’d definitely pull over and watch that!
I don’t judge you or disparage you.
Me, I don’t drive. I do stop walking and remove my hat for a procession. I make my kids do the same.
My Dad taught me to respect the dead. I don’t know if I got the message he meant me to, but here is my take on it;
I don’t give a fuck about the mourners. I don’t give a fuck about the corpse. I stop and take of my hat to acknowledge that they are free of this life and it really can’t get much worse from here.
They lived, loved, fought, fucked, enjoyed and suffered and now they are done with it.
It is a congratulatory thing - you just can’t do jumping jacks near a funeral 
Zeke
Nobody likes to do it.
Move to the New York metropolitan area. No one pulls over for anything around here, including emergency vehicles with lights and sirens, unless it’s a cop and he’s immediately behind you.
Not saying that’s legal in these parts, mind you, just that it’s normative driving behavior.
Yeah, that’s the case here in Chicago, too. I live by several funeral homes and I can only think of maybe two times a year where I’m stopped by a funeral procession. My last memory of a funeral procession is from September, and I was in that one. We don’t pull over, here, though; it’s just yielding right of way at intersections, so as long as the lead hearse is crossing or turning legally, all the rest of the procession can follow, even against a change in traffic lights. Basically, you could think of it as treating the procession as one very long vehicle. People do pull over and slow down or even stop for emergency vehicles here, though, despite it being a huge city with lots of traffic and places for people to be.
Grew up in rural Ohio. When I was a kid, some people would pull over for a procession. It’s rare now.
Yes, they get the right of way. No, they do not get treated like an emergency vehicle. With emergency vehicles, it makes sense. You don’t know exactly how they will need to go to get through traffic and they will not be moving at traffic speed many times. With a funeral procession, it doesn’t make sense. It’s not like the fifth car in line might suddenly have to turn on Main Street instead of High at 50 mph. The rules are about keeping the cars together.
And anything that involves suddenly pulling to the side of the road is probably a really bad idea. Be predictable and orderly. Make sure you are not impeding traffic or doing anything abruptly. And be courteous, not just in form, but in reality.
I’m trying to envision this … 50 miles of cars in a funeral procession? I can’t imagine anybody’s funeral being that big.
And as I was typing, it occurred to me that you actually meant the distance traveled by the procession was 50 miles in length. I feel stupid now.
Please ignore this post. If you have to remember it, though, pretend it was written by lieu and not me. He’s smart enough to get away with the occasional stupid post, but I need all the help I can get.
Anyway, to the OP: Pull over. It makes the people in the funeral procession feel a bit better on a crappy day for them, and it doesn’t drastically impact you. I’d need some proof that you’re regularly being incommoded by funeral processions that take five minutes to go by, because I just don’t believe funerals that size happen on a regular basis in any given part of the country.
I think is a beautiful gesture myself. I feel that as a society we have gotten too individualistic, focusing on our own benefits, and not really caring about the community. I like rituals that make us realize that the world is bigger than ourselves and our own desires.