Funeral Processions on the Highway

[l008com]

I am not a d**k.
Yes i know, a thread that starts with that makes your first thought "oh, so he's a d**k"
But its true. I've been in a few funeral processions and I come across them once in a while. I'm rarely up before noon so I don't come across them very often.
But today I came across one that I had to cut through, and I'd say the people in it were the d**ks.

So this procession was on Rt 95, pretty major highway. It had a police escort front and rear, but they didn't block the ramp I was entering on. So I didn't know I was in a funeral until I was at the end of the ramp ready to merge into traffic. So what do I do? At this point, anything I do will break a law. Stopping on the highway is illegal and dangerous, driving in the breakdown lane is illegal and dangerous, and breaking through a procession is illegal. Not very dangerous though is it.
So given my options, I forced my way in and immediately went over again into the second lane, and out of the line of cars.

Now given the situation, you think the people in the funeral would let me just zip through. I mean it's a f**king highway, and my car can fly, but not LITERALLY.
But no, I get car after car blocking me, something that people rarely do in Massachusetts. Then finally I just really force my way in and get all kinds of dirty looks and hand signals (not a finger that i could see, just obvious disgust).

I know those people probably had other things on their mind, but come on what the f**k am I supposed to do? They shouldn't bring funeral processions on highways, it's extremely dangerous to bring highway traffic to a stop, and the people driving in them don't seem to drive any differently realizing they are on a highway, not a normal street. I'm so pissed about this, I've been thinking about it all day.

Thoughts?

As far as I know, the law in that situation would probably be to stop, even in that dangerous location. Of course you can't tell it's a funeral until you're literally on top of it.

[OUR72GTO]

I think your dead right!

[Camaro_Corvette]

I have never seen a funeral procession on a highway before. Maybe you should move to INDY...

[l008com]

I haven't either. But Im VERY rarely on the road early enough in the morning to catch them anywhere. They really are very dangerous though. Especially when a long one is running a read light, and people coming up from the side streets have a green, and have no idea a funeral is going through. I think they should be banned from highways though. If they're driving on the highway, they need to be normal highway traffic.

[JaysonAych]

That's something I've never seen or thought of before.

Doing a bit of reading, in my state the funeral procession's right-of-way with regards to overtaking is nullified on an Interstate or state Parkway (freeway). But I didn't see anything about what to do if you have to merge into the freeway with the procession in the travel lane. You're right though...it would have been dangerous to stop on the ramp and to try to merge back in from a standstill after they'd gone...

[TAG UR IT]

Here's a police officers thoughts.

First and foremost, the officers in charge of traffic control did NOT do their job by blocking that on ramp.

With that being said, I would not expect you to realize that a funeral procession is passing by (just having your lights on really isn't enough)...Yes....hazards and lights...but still.

It all comes down to safety. Anyone coming down that ramp could have slammed into the rear of you and any officer would have said you were at fault for stopping on the on ramp when you should have merged.



Given the situation, you did the RIGHT thing.

Now, don't let it bug you any more.





ps....i edited your post due to some choice "dirty words." Now go wash that keyboard out with soap!!!

[l008com]

I can see filtering the F-bombs, but the D-bombs? A bit excessive, no?

[TAG UR IT]

And fix your settings so I can send you private messages so I won't have to call you out on the board in front of everyone. I'd much rather send you a PM explaining the language situation than by doing it out in the open.

Thanks.

Is that really necessary? I mean...you are talking in front of over 8,000 members and thousands of others who are guests here. Would you stand up in front of 10,000 people and talk like that? Your parents? Grandparents?

We have young'ins here too. An occasional sh!t or d@mn isn't anything to get upset over. But, d and f will be **'ed.

[l008com]

Also, one thing people don't realize is that hazards don't look like blinkers if you can only see one side of a car. . . Not just in this situation but in any situation where you're driving with hazards, at an intersection, everyone that sees you is going to think you are trying to turn towards them. Anyway...

[l008com]

I don't mind. . . I have enough messages to check, to THEN have to go check PM's on a million different forums . . . no thanks. I get plenty of PMs on certain forums and they all go unread.