The funeral procession is a way to honor the person who died also. Funeral Processions have a lead car usually a hearse. Following the hearse is the car carrying the immediate family followed by the rest of the family and friends. The Procession travels from the funeral ceremony, typically held at funeral home or church to the place of burial.
What is a funeral procession?
A funeral procession is a group of organized people taking the deceased from the funeral home to the cemetery. People used to take the deceased’s body in a coffin. Men of the family picked the coffin on their shoulders to take it to the cemetery. There are many ways to the funeral procession. You can take your cars to take the person who died from the funeral home to the cemetery.
You can also use your cars to take the deceased from the place of worship to the crematorium if the body has to be cremated. It is hard to use the outdated ways of the procession as most funeral homes are at specific locations. You cannot take the coffin on your shoulders. The most recent method of the funeral procession is by cars. You can hire a car for the procession as there are specialized vehicles available. All the other family members can drive after the vehicle with the deceased’s body.
Funeral procession right of way
You have the right of the way if you are a part of the procession. There are some rules you must follow to get the right of way. The vehicle with the body should have a flag or emergency light. All the other vehicles of the procession should start hazard lights. It is unsuitable to leave the procession. If the vehicle with the deceased’s body has passed an interchange and the traffic light turned red, you should not stop. Everyone must give you the way at the red light as you have the right of way.
All the vehicles must be aligned in the same manner as they arrive. Processions should drive slower than the speed limits. You should drive below 30 miles on the city roads and below 50 miles on the highways. It is also crucial to mark the last car of the procession so people know that they can continue their drive normally. The last car should have two funeral flags and a hazard light on. The procession vehicles have to give way to the ambulances, police vehicles, and emergency service vehicles. All other vehicles must yield to the right of way of the procession vehicles.
Funeral procession cars
You will find three types of cars in the funeral procession. A hearse is a compulsory vehicle at the start of the procession. You can find more information about hearses in our What is a Hearse post. Many places made it essential to use the hearse to carry the deceased. You cannot use other vehicles for this purpose. The laws can vary in some places as you can also use the other vehicles for transporting the deceased. You will find the lead car behind the hearse. This can be a luxury car like a limousine. This car can also go at the front of the procession.
All the personal vehicles can stay behind these vehicles. You can place the funeral flag on the first vehicle. It is also crucial to place two funeral flags on the last vehicle. You can identify the cars in the procession by checking the indicators. All vehicles must start the hazard lights to indicate that they are part of the procession. You can also arrange luxury vehicles for all members of the funeral.
Do you pull over for funeral procession?
There are no laws that force you to pull over for a funeral procession. It does not mean that you should not pull over for the procession vehicles. You may see many people pull over when they see a procession passing. You may think that if there are no laws, why do people pull over. The reason for pulling over is the respect for the mourning family and the deceased. Everyone has to die someday. If you do not respect the possessions of the other, people may not give respect to your procession also. People do it due to traditional values. Pulling over is a sign of respect for the family. You inform people that you are a civilized person who knows how to respect others.
There are some situations where you need to stop for the processions. If the lead vehicle has passed the crossing, you need to wait for all other cars even when you have green signal light on your side. You also need to stop for the procession when the road is one or two-lane and they are moving slowly. You should stop and let them pass. If you continue with them, your car will appear to be a part of the procession. It is a disrespectful thing to do. There is no reason to wait at the signal if the lead vehicle has stopped at the red light. Procession lead vehicles must follow all the traffic rules of the country. There are only a few exceptions for the cars behind as you need to stop for them until all of them pass.
If a procession passes in front of you, it is better to give them some respect. You can stop the music in your car if you are playing something loud. You need to wait for all the vehicles to pass before you can resume your journey. You can find the lead car with an emergency light on the top and a funeral flag. You can identify the last vehicle as it should have two or more funeral flags. Some suggest that you pull over and let them pass. If you have an emergency, you should look for a respectable way to overtake a funeral procession. You can wait for the two-lane road to overtake them. You also need to overtake them from the high-speed lane. You can only overtake them from the lower speed lane when they are moving in the high-speed lane for a long time. It is unsuitable to use a horn when a recession is passing.
