When you are in your car and a funeral procession passes you?....?

Question

are you supposed to stop? What is the rule of thumb on this?

Answer 1

In years gone by, say up to 20 years ago, cars and pedestrians would automatically stop until the hearst had gone by and even waiting sometimes for the whole funeral procession to go by. Now, traffic actually goes around this procession in the larger cities and towns. I am hoping that somewhere in N. America, people still have the decency to give a fellow citizen his very last tribute. As well, people would often times put their right hand over their heart in tribute. It makes you think of your own mortality and do a good job that day.

Answer 2

It is out of respect to the deceased, and courteous to the family and friends in a funeral procession, to pull off to the side of the road and let all the cars follow the hearst to the cemetery. Doing this allows all the cars to be together when going through intersections and turns. It has always been a pet peeve of mine to see people ignore this practice. They are the same ones that would like others to do this if it was their family or friend that passed.

Answer 3

No one is required to stop for a procession going the other direction. The procession has the right of way at intersections, it is against the law to cut into them. But there is no law that says you, driving south, MUST stop for the procession driving north.
Most states grant right of way, but do NOT require people going the opposite direction to stop.
If you don't KNOW the person, how can you possibly respect them? Or, if I think someone is a dirty s.o.b. in life, I sure won't respect him any more when he dies.
"Other vehicles are prohibited from driving between, joining, attempting to pass, or crossing the path of a funeral procession" But there's nothing I could find that says it's illegal to go the opposite direction. Also, there are some places where it's actually illegal to stop and impede traffic.

Answer 4

when a funeral is on the interstate you are not suppose to stop the flow of traffic. that is against the law and could cause serious wrecks. the reason why people stop is because too show respect, there is no law against this you can drive by or show respect. people die everyday, you don't know that person so when i see a funeral i don't stop and im not going to care if someone stops for me when im in a hearse.

Answer 5

The best thing to do is just get out of the way. It's really not necessary to stop completely, just move over and let them pass. Also, remember that funeral processions have the right of way and are permitted to proceed through traffic lights without stopping.

Answer 6

To show respect for the family and the deceased, it is polite to pull over and stop until the procession is past. I'm not aware it's a law though; I just think it's a matter of respect.

Answer 7

I don't think there is a rule of thumb on this...Here in the south, it is called RESPECT! It is called letting others around you know that you have respect for human beings..Pure and simple respect. One day, it will be you on that journey to your final resting place and I would like to think the motorists stopped and showed respect to your loved ones...

Answer 8

In PA, once the hearse has passed you must wait for the rest of the procession. No cutting in and no cutting through. I've seen this happen one time and called the police to ask if it was law and he said yes.

Answer 9

youre supposed to pull off the side of the road as far as possible and stop out of respect for the deceased

Answer 10

If all the cars are together you can usually tell they are together if they all have their headlights on and hazard lights on. In that case you need to wait until the end of the procession until you can cross the street or otherwise.