Funeral Procession Laws Explained
Laws often serve as the backstop of our social contract with one another, protecting the most vulnerable among us from the predations of the most aggressive. In the case of funeral processions, these laws are especially important because individuals whose loved ones have died are often more disposed to emotional volatility than they would be otherwise. In practical terms, this means that accidents are more prone to occur when funerals and memorials take place.
As such, the laws governing the operations of funeral processions seek to create conditions under which the grieving new approaches to the road, managing their vehicles and their surroundings accordingly. Specifically, funeral procession laws dictate the order in which procession participants may travel down a given roadway, the speeds they must maintain through various areas and where they may park their vehicles once they’ve arrived at the cemetery or other destination .
Traffic laws are typically intended to ensure the safety of all drivers and passengers on a given roadway. However, funeral processions represent a unique exception, and individuals who disrupt them may face civil and even criminal penalties. Nevertheless, these laws exist primarily to ensure that mourners and procession participants do not need to concern themselves with the actions of any harried drivers on the road.
Because traffic laws change from one jurisdiction to another, funeral procession organizers must be sure to review the laws in their local area prior to planning the route. In many cases, traffic laws governing funeral processions are one of the less well-known aspects of traffic legislation, meaning that even those who tend to pride themselves on their knowledge of local road rules may be blissfully unaware of their duties while travelling alongside a procession.
Specific Laws Governing Funeral Processions
The Transportation Code also provides for special signals and markings for funeral processions. A funeral escort may be a person, or an entity such as an organization, that offers its services to a funeral director or funeral home as a means of providing protection for funeral processions.
Essentially, funeral escorts are vehicles that are within the funeral procession, but not carrying the funeral participants. They will often have flashing lights or other highly visible markings. They are coordinated with the funeral cars, taking a position in the procession ahead of, behind, or on the side of the funeral cars.
Combining some of the laws discussed earlier, existing Texas law also states that any motor vehicle in a funeral procession must display a lighted headlamps – high beam or low beam – as appropriate under the conditions. The State of Texas Transportation Code ยง 672.002 subsection (d) states that the operator of a motor vehicle designated to be within a funeral procession commits an offense if the operator fails to have lighted the headlamps of the vehicle, during the course of the entire procession.
Moreover, a person commits an offense, under the same section of the Traffic Code, if that person, while driving a motor vehicle, intentionally and knowingly interrupts, disrupts, or otherwise willfully seeks to prevent a vehicle in a duly organized funeral procession from maintaining the procession in an uninterrupted manner. This offense is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and/or confinement of up to 3 days.
Rights and Duties of Participants in a Funeral Procession
Texas law on funeral processions states that all drivers must yield the right-of-way to funeral vehicles and processions, but there are rights and responsibilities for both the funeral escort crew as well as the vehicles participating in the procession.
It is the right of the funeral procession to the entire lane of traffic as long as the lead vehicle and funeral vehicles have their headlights on. The funeral vehicle lead also has the right to stop traffic in both directions as necessary. Vehicles in a procession must not be more than 500 feet apart from each other (between vehicles), twice as far apart as regular cars are from normal traffic lights.
However, the participants in a procession must give the right-of-way to emergency vehicles, even if the first vehicle in a funeral procession has received an escort from an emergency vehicle at the point the procession enters an intersection. The participants must also give the right-of-way to a law enforcement vehicle attempting to have the procession yield to allow one to pass in cases of an emergency, but this requires that the law enforcement vehicle have its lights flashing and its siren blaring.
The funeral director must also stop the formation once the funeral procession reaches the driveway to the cemetery at its destination; this is as a courtesy to the cemetery and to other road users.
Obligations of Motorists in a Funeral Procession
The law is not just useful for funeral processions to know and understand. Non-participating drivers also have a responsibility when they encounter a funeral procession on the road in Texas. The moment a procession enters the road, it must be given the right of way. All non-participating vehicles must yield to a funeral procession until the last vehicle of the procession has left the road. Drivers are only allowed to leave the road in order to pass a procession at an intersection if there is no way to exit the road unless you leave the road.
If a driver cannot reduce speed, yield the right of way, or stop for a funeral procession, you must safely leave the road and allow the procession to pass before re-entering the road. On highways, drivers also may not cross an intersection against a traffic control device, or otherwise impede the passage of a funeral procession. Texas statute states that if a driver breaks any of these laws when encountering a funeral procession, they may be given a fine up to $500.
Penalties for Failure to Follow Funeral Procession Laws
Failure to yield to a funeral procession is a misdemeanor even if the vehicles in the procession are not displaying lights. It is illegal to pass through a motorcade or funeral procession at an intersection if it is attended by a police escort. We often see large funeral processions being escorted by several marked police cars with lights on, but you don’t always see the lights on the vehicles that are not "ahead" or "adjacent" to the funeral procession. But, the law does not require lights on the non-leaders of the procession.
It also does not matter whether the vehicles in the procession are displaying headlights . The law only mentions the lights on the vehicle(s) "preceding the funeral coach." There is some caselaw that says if no lights were displayed on ANY vehicle in the procession that the passing motorist is not guilty of violating this section. Negligent Passing was the name of the former law and it is codified in statute, but Committing an Offense with a Driver’s License issued under Chapter 521 is a recent addition and takes its place.
Violators of the law are subject to a ticket and fine of up to $500, which usually surprises the violator.
How to Safely Manage Funeral Processions
The following tips are designed to help plan and participate in a safe and respectful funeral procession while ensuring compliance with Texas law and local regulations.
Pre- planning for the procession is an important part of its organization. It is always best to work with the funeral director to ensure that the procession is safe, organized, and follows Texas law. Funeral directors often have many valuable resources and can recommend places to get accurate maps and other relevant resources. Additionally, many funeral directors have experience working with law enforcement or security personnel to ensure that their funeral processions are adequately supervised.
Prior to the day of the funeral procession, make sure you understand the route that will be taken so that you aren’t surprised on the day of the funeral. Driving ahead of the procession can cause problems because you may become road-blocked or lost. It is also important to ensure that when you arrive at the cemetery you will be able to connect with the group in a timely manner.
On the day of the funeral procession, gasoline your vehicle and check the oil, water, and general condition of your car to ensure that it is in good working condition. This is in order to prevent breakdowns that could disrupt the procession and be considered a traffic hazard. Additionally, all vehicles in the procession should be in overall good working condition.
All vehicles in the procession must turn on their headlights and clearly display cemetery placards or flags, when required. Flags and placards should be clearly visible. Remember to deactivate your flag or placard once you have turned away from the procession route. If you do not have a flag or placard, remain behind the vehicle in front of you. In Texas, violators of these provisions can be stopped and ticketed.
Be courteous to others and try to minimize the possibility of others passing in or cutting into the funeral procession. This can be accomplished by using the right lane and remaining within the preceding funeral vehicle’s sight-lines.
It is important to keep a respectable distance between each vehicle in the procession. Following too closely can become uncomfortable for other people behind you and could cause an accident in the case of sudden or emergency stops.
Take care to avoid making unnecessary lane changes. This can require that you move faster than the normal speed limit to rejoin the proper lanes, which can be dangerous and illegal. You should not exceed the speed limit or drive hazardously or recklessly. Doing so can result in drivers not realizing that you are part of a funeral procession or simply not allowing the funeral procession through. When this happens, the procession is broken into distinct, unconnected groups.
Notable Cases and Potential Legal Issues
When conducting research for an article, it’s not uncommon to uncover case studies that clearly denote exactly how a specific law was applied – or ignored. The following case studies range from a broad application to the minutia of individual events, but all clearly display the how the law is applied throughout the Great State of Texas.
Each year a large number of motor vehicle fatalities in Dallas County result from head-on collisions. A recent fatal accident was captured on video as a dash cam from a marked Dallas squad car. The collision resulted from a highlight pursued by another officer; however, the scene appears similar to many others in Dallas County. At the time of the fatal collision motorists were not allowed to proceed until the leaders of the procession had cleared the intersection.
McKinney Police reported a rear-end collision involving an 84-year-old driver who reportedly failed to come to a complete stop behind a funeral procession, resulting in an accident with severe injuries to a motorist. The funeral procession involved fifteen vehicles.
Frisco Police reported on an incident of "road rage" that involved a funeral procession. Witnesses reported that a driver of a pickup truck became very aggressive toward a motorcade of fifteen vehicles, driving northbound on Preston Road in the death of an "elderly woman , " who was reportedly of Indian decent and the mother of the owner of a local restaurant. Witnesses notified police after observing the driver "salute" the procession with his middle finger.
Houston Police officers reportedly cited a number of drivers who chose to pass a Houston funeral procession because traffic was stopped at a red light. The hearing officer announced that significant evidence indicated the drivers would have done the same thing at any other time. The incident resulted in a civil lawsuit following charges for which a zero-bond was set.
A Grand Prairie sprint car driver reportedly struck a funeral procession scene, which included four vehicles. The driver was reportedly 11 seconds behind the last car of the procession when he decided to pass on the median. The court records indicated that the driver did not immediately stop behind the last vehicle of the procession. A police report reportedly indicates that the driver revealed he was speeding, but the officer did not issue a citation for the traffic infraction.
In Dallas County, an involved party reported a near collision with a funeral procession because he and his wife were fooled by signage on a marked vehicle, which the driver auctioned during a day of racing at fansupportCorral.com. The driver reportedly slowed down so a vehicle could join the procession; however, despite the rumor, the driver was not cited for a traffic infraction. An eased road rage incident was reported in Ellis County. The parties involved reportedly acknowledged the Texas funeral procession laws. After the incident, both parties extended a public apology, thanking the community for its role in preventing further harm.