Dgorila1 said:I live in a busy urban area and the whole "have to give way for a funeral procession" bugs me to no end. Some of these can be over a mile long and cause all kinds of traffic issues and accidents. Personally I want the state to change the law to eliminate this practice, it's just too dangerous to the general public. There's no reason that the people traveling from the chapel to the cemetery need to all travel in a pack. Just tell them to be at the cemetery at whatever time so everyone can get there safely....the deceased isn't going anywhere in a hurry!
We recently attend a funeral in Philadelphia. It was a huge affair with at least a hundred vehicles in the cemetery procession. I have to say that the whole idea of having an unscheduled "parade" through a major metro area, mid-day. without any police protection, was really ridiculous! Even with headlights on, and flags on every vehicle, I had two near misses. Next time I would just skip the whole dangerous mess, get the GPS address and show up in the cemetery on time. Cell phones use while driving, "all about me" psychosis suffered by many city drivers, and general insanity of city driving make the whole idea pretty unsuitable in modern urban areas.
This is the first I have heard of the concept of opposing traffic stopping. I just chuckle when I think of NY and NJ drivers doing the same thing. I can just imagine the carnage. The first guy pulls over, the second spots a gap, a chance to get to their destination a few milliseconds faster, and makes all illegal high speed pass. He hits the Hearse head on, and dies at the scene. The line of cars behind the dead guy are pissed that they have to wait until the dead guy is tagged and bagged, and police allow then to pass.