# What's the rule with funeral processions? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 29, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742 "2011-07-29T15:59:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/41 "2011-07-31T03:53:51Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > The more I think about it, the more processions seems like a quaint custom out of place in todays society. I find myself wondering how much of a mess if 2 processions cross. Interesting that you said this. There is a very quick but poignant scene in the movie “We Are Marshall” (true story about a plane crash that killed the college football team along with quite a few prominent members of the community) where one funeral procession has to stop to let another funeral procession pass. Watching it with my mom, who was in high school then and planning to go to Marshall, she told me that she remembers people talking about this at the time and how sad it was. ---
**Author:** ![Charleythejanitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Charleythejanitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charleythejanitor)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/42 "2011-07-31T07:36:36Z")
Rule #1 Don’t be the one in the casket,everything else is gravy. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/43 "2011-07-31T21:04:10Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > I would cut the grieving some slack. You may have been in the right, and it was rude for them to flip you off, but they’re probably not in the most reasonable state of mind. But the dude was certainly aware of what he was doing when he tried to go around another car _in the procession_ because he was just so damned sure that he had the right of way and he was going to use it no matter what. However “wrong” it may have been to not give right of way to the procession, it’s not a violation of the law (in the OP’s state) or universally known etiquette. It’s absolutely a violation of both the law and common sense to try to cut _two_ drivers off. Being in a funeral procession doesn’t change that. If you’re that desperately bereaved that you’re incapable of following the laws of the road, then you need to not be driving. ---
**Author:** ![Hummina\_shadeeba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e68b1a/32.png) [@Hummina\_shadeeba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hummina_shadeeba)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/44 "2012-09-17T06:50:50Z")
I was trying to get across the street in a rush yesterday, as was an old man with a cane looking as if he was in has last days, and what do you think was in our way? You guesses it but call it what you want to me it’s a roadblock. And they say humans are an advances species cause of things like this. As the previous poster said- they all need to learn where they’re going and stop imposing their religious customs on the rest of us. In America I thought that’s what the real teaditional custom. I almost walked across the street and through the procession, which was stuck in the traffic jam it had made. How dare I get a ticket for walking through on my signal. There is no valid justification. And to those that say dignity, decency, and sensitivity requires it,… There are unteenth examples of other minority religious customs being… not enforced in such a way. This. Op looked like he might hunt me and the old man down if we made a run for us. And then there could have been a scuffle as we resisted arrest. The gun could go off. Hopefully Im the survivor and then still I don’t feel like waiting for that procession to go by either ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/45 "2012-09-18T07:08:19Z")
The last funeral I attended was my brother’s funeral in Oklahoma. We had two motorcycle police officers with the funeral procession. They would take turns going ahead and blocking an intersection where we would be passing, holding off traffic if necessary. They did nothing about people not pulling over to the side. Near the cemetery, one lady did try to cut as we were pulling in and one of the officers pulled her over. I don’t think my brother would have wanted her to get a ticket for this and I felt bad about it. Of course, I felt bad about everything that day. ---
**Author:** ![Mnemnosyne](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mnemnosyne/32/3347_2.png) [@Mnemnosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnemnosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/46 "2012-09-18T08:57:35Z")
I’m in California, which according to Alice’s link has no special rules for funeral processions, which probably explains my ‘that’s fucking insane’ reaction to the idea that people can just run right through red lights during them. I would certainly be surprised if I was in another state and saw a bunch of cars going through a red light without an officer directing traffic for them. And by ‘surprised’ I mean I might very well be in the middle of an accident by that point. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/47 "2012-09-18T20:14:10Z")
**Hummina shadeeba** , this has fuck-all to do with religion, it’s about respect for those grieving. Some funeral homes give the people flags to put on their cars, to indicate that they’re part of a procession. And it’s not just about being rude or respect for the dead – you may need to follow someone to know where to go. Rule: don’t cut into funeral processions. Just don’t do it – it’s a douchebag thing to do. It has nothing to do about “diddums being late to the funeral.” Show some respect, people. Ever lost a loved one? Yeah, it’s like that. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/48 "2012-09-18T20:16:03Z")
In this age of GPS, you don’t need to have a whole procession. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one and that’s fine. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/49 "2012-09-18T20:50:10Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > In this age of GPS, you don’t need to have a whole procession. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one and that’s fine. GPS or no GPS, if I hadn’t been in a procession for my grandparents’ funerals I’d still be lost in Pittburgh. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/50 "2012-09-18T21:32:01Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > I’m in California, which according to Alice’s link has no special rules for funeral processions, which probably explains my ‘that’s fucking insane’ reaction to the idea that people can just run right through red lights during them. I would certainly be surprised if I was in another state and saw a bunch of cars going through a red light without an officer directing traffic for them. And by ‘surprised’ I mean I might very well be in the middle of an accident by that point. California Vehicle Code section 2817: “Any person who disregards any traffic signal or direction given by a peace officer authorized…to escort funeral processions, if the peace officer is in a peace officer’s uniform, and is in the process of escorting a funeral procession, shall be guilty of an infraction.” The procession can ignore red lights because the police officer required to be at the head of the procession lets them. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/51 "2012-09-18T22:09:47Z")
I really wish they would mandate flashing lights or really obvious visuals like flags, as well as requiring that officers be present to halt traffic at crossways and lights. With so many people running daylight headlights now, and so few processions happening at all, and more and more processions filled with ancient people who leave a few semi-truck’s worth of distance between them and the cars in front… it’s just getting damned hard to tell! I cut one accidentally a few months ago, and felt shitty about it. But no one had their flashers on, there were no officers at the intersection, and ancient dude was poking along at about 20 on a 45 country highway approximately 50 or so cars worth of procession further up the road. I didn’t realize what I’d done until everyone else on the road pulled off into the same cemetery way out in BFE. :smack: I felt like a total tool, but really, am I supposed to be psychic? ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/52 "2012-09-20T15:22:25Z")
The only time I’ve seen police escorts here is when it’s a funeral for a police officer or someone prominent in politics. The last funeral procession I was in the funeral director put a bright orange ‘funeral’ sticker on my windshield. Not just so other people would see it but also for the red light cameras that would be snapping a pic of everyone running the light. I’ve never seen anybody pull over for a funeral no matter what side of the road they were on, and people will pass one if there are 2 or more lanes traveling in the same direction. People surely aren’t going to stay behind one on a highway. If a procession was turning left and crossing in front of me I’d stop IF I realized what was going on, and I didn’t have anybody so close behind me that I knew they wouldn’t run into me. The last time I saw that situation though somebody (probably from the funeral home) had stopped the oncoming traffic. I would never cut into a funeral procession unless it’s on the highway and I need to exit. It still feels rude. I also have my own little personal superstition about cutting in, that the Fates will see me and say, “If you want to be part of a funeral procession we can arrange that for you”. ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/53 "2012-09-21T06:29:12Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > **Hummina shadeeba** , this has fuck-all to do with religion, it’s about respect for those grieving. > > Some funeral homes give the people flags to put on their cars, to indicate that they’re part of a procession. > > And it’s not just about being rude or respect for the dead – you may need to follow someone to know where to go. > Rule: don’t cut into funeral processions. Just don’t do it – it’s a douchebag thing to do. It has nothing to do about “diddums being late to the funeral.” Show some respect, people. Ever lost a loved one? Yeah, it’s like that. I know this was directed to someone else, but this comment, and peoples reactions in this thread in general really have my ire up. In fact I am a long time lurker that signed up just to respond. This comment was my tipping point. First and foremost, the dead don’t give a damn if you are being respectful. They are DEAD. Depending on your beliefs, they are currently being embraced by God or oblivion. Either way, I’m sure they could care less. Funerals are for the living, not the dead. Secondly, processions seem rare enough today that most people would not be able to recognize them, let alone know what was a proper response. This was never covered in drivers ed for me, and mine was a fairly thorough teacher, as best as I can remember. Have I ever lost a loved one? Yup. My mom, when I was eight. I don’t recall either myself our my father expecting people to bring their lives to a halt because we were going to the cemetery. And in fact, a person with an attitude like yours would have pissed off my mother to no end, for some of the reasons I mentioned, even for her own funeral. My grandmother that passed a few years later felt similarly. Everyone’s loved one was special to them. That does not mean, in my opinion, that strangers should be forced to bend to your grieving whim. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/54 "2012-09-21T06:50:48Z")
I specifically said: > [@](#): > > it’s about respect for those grieving. And most funeral homes will give the cars flags to signal that they’re part of a procession. They are certainly not rare, I can assure you, as my father, a funeral director, deals with them all the time. I was also addressing someone who made a snide comment about someone getting late to a funeral. Just because YOU were not bothered by someone cutting into a funeral procession doesn’t mean everyone else is. However, it is a sign of respect for the grieving to let the procession go by. I am sorry for your loss. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/55 "2012-09-21T19:49:50Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Well now you know, so the situation won’t come up again. > > But rather than getting annoyed at a funeral goer for flipping you the bird when you cut off the procession, perhaps think how you would feel if someone barged into the funeral of your loved one asking where the bathroom was. > [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > And I imagine he was really annoyed with you barging into the middle of his loved one’s funeral rather than yield the right of way. If the funeral were indoors somewhere, I can understand being annoyed. But if you’re holding part of the funeral in a public place, with public through traffic - well, even with the best will in the world, someone might botch their driving a bit. It happens; doesn’t seem cause for a fuss. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/56 "2012-09-21T21:54:38Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > California Vehicle Code section 2817: “Any person who disregards. . .direction given by a peace officer authorized…to escort funeral processions, if the peace officer is in a peace officer’s uniform, and is in the process of escorting a funeral procession, shall be guilty of an infraction.” The procession can ignore red lights because the police officer required to be at the head of the procession lets them. I think the critical aspect of that citation is the active participation of a peace officer who is directing traffic on behalf of the procession. That seems to be a rare occurrence here in the southern half of California. The population on the lower left coast is so high that, if we expected more than half the funeral processions to have a traffic control escort, we would need a police detail at every substation dedicated solely to escorting funeral processions (boy I’d hate to get that assignment) twelve hours a day every day of the week.\* I’d imagine New York City, Chicago, and several other major metropolitan areas would have similar problems: Too many people dying each day for the police to be able to escort every funeral procession. Instead, police escorts for funeral processions are optional and most arrangements skip the escort either intentionally or by oversight. Having an official placard in an official color attached to the top of participants’ vehicles (right over the driver’s head) by a ceremony official should be a global standard to distinguish the procession from the uninvolved – but then again, this is the real world and a lot of other **should** s don’t occur in reality either. Therefore we all have to resign ourselves to cutting each other a bit of slack for social mistakes, even when they deal with something as grave as a loved-one’s death. –G! You’d die for love When it’s alive Where does love go when it dies? . --Elliott & Collen (Def Leppard) . _Where Does Love Go When It Dies?_ . Slang [\*Note to the argumentative: q.v. _Hyperbole_] ---
**Author:** ![rntracee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@rntracee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rntracee)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/57 "2013-07-10T15:59:02Z")
Gary T, I am in agreement with you. I have NEVER seen nor heard of, funeral processions with flashing hazards. Most funeral homes will put flags on every other or every 3rd car. I agree that hazards have their own purpose and are NOT a good choice for a funeral procession. Because most cars now have daytime headlights, perhaps highbeams would be a more appropriate choice for a funeral procession during the day as it will not be blinding, but will make a statement. I still think flags should be MANDATORY if there are laws regarding funeral processions. Not everyone is aware. Here is my story: I have never had an issue with funeral processions and I am a courteous driver. You see flags on the cars, a hearse, a long line of cars with headlights on, etc. It is usually pretty obvious. Yesterday, I was getting gas, my back was toward the road, so if a hearse went by, I did not see it. I saw a tow truck, yes, a flat bed tow truck with its yellow becon lights on. No car on its bed. (Was this the “emergency vehicle leading the procession?”- if so, poor choice). Then, two cars with hazards flashing. One with headlights on, one without. I didn’t know if there was an accident or something. Then there was a large gap, so I pulled out of the gas station in front of a car, about 6 car lengths back, crossing the intersection with their hazards flashing, headlights also off. I drove the same speed as they did, the speed limit. Stopped for red lights, just as they did. Passed the cemetary (apparently they were going in a different entrance). Now, the problem. As they all were going to take a right at a light I was going straight so I pulled over to the left, into the straight lane. Suddenly, the pickup truck in the right lane, pulls in front of me, into the straight lane, and slams on his brakes. Then just keeps driving there until we get to the light and takes a right from the left lane. (pretty illegal too) (If he waited about a 1/2 second longer, he could have made me miss the light. 😛 Oh well, can’t have everything. :D) I proceeded to blow my horn and flip him off. :smack: (Go ahead and criticize me all you want. Oh, he was already upset going to a funeral, etc etc.) But that is not a good reason for him to take the law into his own hands. He could have caused an accident. He could have killed me or some other innocent person. And for what? Because I was driving along with his funeral procession? I wasn’t being a jerk, I didn’t cut anyone off, or cause anyone to get lost because of it. I had never seen a funeral procession with hazards flashing and I didn’t see a hearse or any other vehicle noting the presence of a funeral procession. There are specific laws in the driver’s test book regarding school buses. If funeral processions are subject to law, they should be in the driving manual, on the driving test, and how they are marked should be uniform and subject to law as well. Not subject to interpretation. The law should be that ALL cars are marked with a flag which clearly identifies the car as part of the procession. rntracee > [@Gary\_T](#): > > In 40+ years of driving, I’ve never seen (nor till now heard of) funeral processions with flashing lights. All the ones I’ve seen have their headlights on. With more and more cars equipped with daytime running lights, I can see where there may be a desire for something besides headlights to indicate a funeral procession, but hazard flashers have their own purpose, and I question whether they’re a good choice. > > All the processions here in Kansas City have police motorcycle escorts. The officers typically stay in the intersection if there’s a traffic light to make sure the procession goes through and no one else enters the intersection. An officer would been at the type of left turn described in the OP, eliminating the need for anyone to try to figure out what to do. Having the procession turn left on that road without an officer to direct traffic strikes me as quite dangerous, and frankly rather stupid. > [@Gary\_T](#): > > In 40+ years of driving, I’ve never seen (nor till now heard of) funeral processions with flashing lights. All the ones I’ve seen have their headlights on. With more and more cars equipped with daytime running lights, I can see where there may be a desire for something besides headlights to indicate a funeral procession, but hazard flashers have their own purpose, and I question whether they’re a good choice. > > All the processions here in Kansas City have police motorcycle escorts. The officers typically stay in the intersection if there’s a traffic light to make sure the procession goes through and no one else enters the intersection. An officer would been at the type of left turn described in the OP, eliminating the need for anyone to try to figure out what to do. Having the procession turn left on that road without an officer to direct traffic strikes me as quite dangerous, and frankly rather stupid. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/58 "2013-07-10T17:24:09Z")
There was a funeral procession in my small town last year that I observed. People on both sides of the road pulled over, pedestrians stopped and removed hats (ball caps). Even joggers stopped running and waited for it to pass. Small town Tennessee. StG ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/59 "2013-07-11T03:04:50Z")
I know this is an old thread, but some questions/comments: 1. Are funeral processions cultural in some way? Admittedly, I haven’t been involved in many funerals thankfully, but I can’t think of a single friend/family member/peer who thinks processions are “the thing to do” when someone dies. I haven’t been in a procession, except within a cemetery (and in GTA IV). 2. Cite that _active duty police officers_ escort processions? The ones I have encountered are so obviously guys trying to look official but obviously not LEOs. Like the Mall Ninjas who buy an official looking badge that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, and they want you to _think_ the have authority. And I can’t believe that taxpayer money would go to such a thing. Keep in mind that I would not be surprised if many of these guys were active LEOs who are moonlighting and currently off duty at their main job. This is mainly for California. I try to be respectful, but I don’t “get” processions. I won’t cut through but I’d be gritting my teeth the whole time. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-rule-with-funeral-processions/590742/61 "2017-01-12T10:12:25Z")
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