Funeral Processions. Time to Outlaw Them.

a reply to: sine.nomine

Nor have I.

In my area, some are escorted, some are not.

When I see one, I pull over if at all possible--it's polite and respectful.

I think they should be done away with, not because they're dangerous, but because they're inconsiderate to the rest of society. I've sat through one that took over 20 minutes to go by. While we're on that one, I never did properly rant back then.
Thanks a lot, I had a post-natal c-section follow-up moved up because I'd popped a few staples that morning. Thanks people. Thanks, a goddamn lot. When the OB/GYN says "get here ASAP so I can check that out", they mean ASAP. You turned a 10 minute trip to their office into a 30 minute freak-out. And going to the hospital instead wasn't an option, they were further away in the opposite direction and still had a damn procession between me and them.

Even my grandmother thought they were, and I quote the late old bird, "An extremely RUDE tradition. The rest of traffic does not care your granddaddy just died, and granddaddy does not care if you have a solid line of cars or not getting from Point A to Point B. HE'S. DEAD." Ouch.

She did have reason to loathe them. Having retired to Florida, and in a high-elderly population stretch of the west coast, she was made late to numerous doctor appointments over the years, and this was a woman famous for showing up an hour early.
Her medical schedule was actually fairly tight in hindsight when we found all her medical paperwork after she died.
She didn't let anyone know just how bad off she was, she had multiple appointments a week, physical therapy for her spinal fusion surgery, physical therapy for her fibro-f'd joints, cancer treatments & follow-ups for her colon cancer no one knew she had, etc. She really, really did not like processions getting in her way at all. And I totally understand how someone in her situation would hate them. You & your outdated procession ideas get in the way of real medical situations for the living. I can see how she perceived it as patently rude.

My sister-in-law's father was so against them that he made damn sure the family KNEW not to do that when his time was up. Nobody arraigned for it, we met at the funeral home for the viewing, and those that felt like watching his pretty box drop into a pit in the ground went for that. No procession needed. I think if they'd done a procession, he'd have climbed out of his casket and slapped everyone, running at the mouth a mile a minute in his thick, almost unintelligibly Scottish accent. nobody wants a dead Scottish man coming back to life to kick their ass


Someone died. I get it. I don't care. They'll still be at the destination whether you arrive in one big parade or not.

originally posted by: headorheart
Processions cannot blow red lights. The hearse has to follow all rules of the road. All drivers should have ample time to react to that.

Like hell they don't. Watched one here last week blow through the light until all of them were past it, to hell with everybody else. Hubby was all, "And there's a traffic camera ticket, and THERE'S a traffic camera ticket" and so forth.

They don't run the reds my ass.

Here where I live, police escort of the procession is provided for FREE....and is also required.

Cops move ahead and block intersections.

People here pull over on the side of the road and stop.....out of respect for not just the person who died, but the friends and family that are on their way to bury that person.

Pretty sad the day we decide that our dead should be treated like a discarded piece of meat

originally posted by: Nyiah
Someone died. I get it. I don't care.

That's kind of a statement about where we are as a culture. We are fast becoming a selfish, me, me, me, only I matter society.

originally posted by: Blaine91555

originally posted by: Nyiah
Someone died. I get it. I don't care.

That's kind of a statement about where we are as a culture. We are fast becoming a selfish, me, me, me, only I matter society.

Exactly.

I've watched it happen over the decades. Even this very forum.

originally posted by: Nyiah

originally posted by: headorheart
Processions cannot blow red lights. The hearse has to follow all rules of the road. All drivers should have ample time to react to that.

Like hell they don't. Watched one here last week blow through the light until all of them were past it, to hell with everybody else. Hubby was all, "And there's a traffic camera ticket, and THERE'S a traffic camera ticket" and so forth.

They don't run the reds my ass.

I don’t think I want to ever be driving near you. Ya sound like a mad individual behind the wheel.

a reply to: Nyiah

It's just a matter of respect. For the deceased and for the grieving. Ever think that the distraught might be better off/safer driving in a procession? Ever bury a child? Where I live, people tend to pull over for processions. Children in playgrounds will stand and bow. It's more respectful to those who lost a loved one than the deceased.

I find it sad that so many people find it upsetting, but we're all entitled to our opinions I suppose.

Wife runs a funeral home in small town America. The police hold traffic and the schools are notified when there's a 21 gun salute.


Small town America.

a reply to: Blaine91555

Indeed.

a reply to: sine.nomine

HaHa

I've never seen a funeral procession cause a traffic collision.

So you have seen 90% to 95% of the funeral processions in the country? Or because you have not seen one it doesn't happen.

Questionable reasoning I think.

Ever think that the distraught might be better off/safer driving in a procession?

With a police escort I agree. Otherwise it is actually a bunch of people driving to a cemetery, often in a hurry.

originally posted by: Blaine91555

originally posted by: Nyiah
Someone died. I get it. I don't care.

That's kind of a statement about where we are as a culture. We are fast becoming a selfish, me, me, me, only I matter society.

Really? I popped a 3 inch swatch of exterior staples and was en route to have it examined before being sidelined by a funeral congregation on the road, and it's me, me, me? Eff the dead, that complication could have been worse than it was. For me, it really highlighted why my grandmother found the tradition so damn rude. We couldn't have gotten out of the gridlock they caused, there was no backing up. If I had a more serious complication such as severe pain or bleeding and was heading to the hospital instead, double eff them.

originally posted by: roadgravel
a reply to: sine.nomine

HaHa

I've never seen a funeral procession cause a traffic collision.

So you have seen 90% to 95% of the funeral processions in the country? Or because you have not seen one it doesn't happen.

Questionable reasoning I think.

Did I say I've seen 90-95 percent of funeral processions?

a reply to: Edumakated

yeah ur fccked. the grieving can do anything they wanna do. ur offside

offside. man. offside BTW were you late for work? God-damned dead asshhhholes Holden up traffic

While I think people should be respectful of processions, I also agree somewhat with the OP. I don't think a procession should be allowed to break traffic laws unless escorted. It's just unsafe.

There are plenty of "what if" scenarios where even a conscious driver could crash into someone running a red light. It's a fact that accidents are caused by something unexpected happening. A car running a red light with no siren or lights is not expected. What is expected when you are driving is that people (more or less) are going to follow the law.

I understand the tradition and the respect, but I also think that safety should come first. The road is dangerous enough without random citizens being given carte blanche while driving.

I certainly don't want to disrespect those trying to honor the one they lost, but what I don't want even more is for a procession to be the cause of a death.

a reply to: sine.nomine

Just when ya say I've never seen and you've only seen a very small percentage it is not a valid point in the big picture.

originally posted by: roadgravel
a reply to: sine.nomine

Just when ya say I've never seen and you've only seen a very small percentage it is not a valid point in the big picture.

And that's a fair point, but to put words in my mouth isn't. I feel as if you nitpicked my responses quite a bit. I was saying it doesn't seem to cause much of a problem in most places, and that the practice is done out of respect for both the dead and their friends/family.

Perhaps the response to the practice is largely regional. As was stated earlier in the thread, it should be taken up at their city council. That's perfectly alright with me.

a reply to: Blaine91555

Isnt that what the whole funeral procession is all about as well?
You sincerely cant see the hypocrisy?