Not too long ago, however, a common practice flourished throughout the United States of allowing the grieving families an opportunity to know they had the full respect of total strangers: Oncoming motorists would pull over as a funeral procession approached their vehicle.
“That went on everywhere when I was a kid,” stated, Garland Ann, a 76-year-old North Carolina woman, adding, “Nowadays it seems like it only goes on out in the country. Everybody else is too busy to pause from their lives for thirty seconds.”
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Still happens around here. Funeral processions get a police escort and people will pull over and wait for the procession to pass If they're walking when one goes by, they'll stop and face it with the men removing their hats and women placing their hand over their heart.
I remember when I first moved to Summerville, GA, in the mountains of northwest Georgia. I was talking to a local Sheriff who told me this story. One day, he was in the car that followed a procession (often there is one cop car in front and one in back). As the procession moved up highway 27 where it was four lane, a car got in the left lane and passed the procession. The cop got into the left lane and pulled the car over. The driver was a woman from New Jersey. The conversation went something like this:
ReplyDelete"Ma'am you know you passed a funeral procession."
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, you're supposed to pull over and let it go by. It's a matter of respect."
"Well, we don't have that law in New Jersey."
"Ma'am, I'm afraial you're not in New Jersey," he said, filling out a ticket with the charge of careless driving. "Have a nice day."
I don't remember a time when it wasn't the custum to pull over onto the shoulder of the road when seeing a hearst followed by a procession heading your way. I'm from Summerville. Not your Summerville though. Somewhat North of New Jersey.
DeleteStill here in Tarboro, NC, fortunately.
ReplyDeleteShit is that not the law any more?
ReplyDeleteMy driver's training emphasized pulling over.
half the time you can't tell it's a funeral procession. lights on? yeah all cars have that now. the hearse looks not all that different than every other SUV on the road.
ReplyDeletewhen I drove my dad to the veterans cemetery for the last time they gave me a little flag to hang over the mirror on my car. I didn't use it. no one would have seen it anyway.
In this part of Tennessee there's a police escort with lights flashing at the head and tail of the procession so there's no doubt what it is. Unless you're new here, that is - first time I saw it I thought there was a low speed pursuit going on.
Deletearound here the only funeral procession that has flashing lights is a cop or a fireman, and that's a hell of a lot of flashing lights. padawan's brother died last year and he was an EMT..the ambulance company wanted to give him a few ambulances to escort the procession, but the cops said no way.
DeleteEvery now and then we get some Yankee brained SOB that complains about people pulling over for funeral processions around these parts. That complaint is followed by generally tolerant and kind people telling the asshole complainant to go boil their head in peanut oil.
ReplyDeleteOne of my earliest memories was standing in the garden when a funeral went past and my mum made me take my hat off - that must have been in about 1954.
ReplyDeleteThen you get in border states where some people were raised right and some weren't. Maryland, for example, where as a passenger in a car driven by a soldier from Up North, I saw a funeral procession on a four-lane highway, some people pulled off the highway and others just kept on gong. The driver of the car I was in said, "What the hell?" A couple of us told him what he was supposed to do. He pulled over, but he was not happy about it. Some people you want to get in a big group and say, "Y'all need to learn some manners."
ReplyDeleteSo moving to Georgia from NJ in 1983 and I was a teenager. Saw this same "difference" and out of respect, adhered to it. But I don't agree with it. 1) I don't know the damn dead person, for all I know they were a frigging mass murderer. 2) Pulling over is a dangerous thing to do on the roads and puts me and others around me in harms way. Hate to see a second corpse in the area because people were trying to be respectful.
ReplyDeleteMight I suggest that for both funeral processions and road construction where flag men are deployed, turn on the vehicle Hazard Lights just prior to stoppping and allow them to remain on throughout the stop and slow moving zone. When doing so you will usually elicit some sort of a response from the flag men to the effect of thanking you for the additonal caution you've displayed.
DeleteThis is the most polite place I have ever lived. That is the first thing my wife remarked about when we moved here.
ReplyDeleteI know, huh? People Sir and Ma'am each other to death here.
DeleteI was on the phone to Macon Diesel and Truck the other day about my transmission and I finally had to tell the guy "Tyler, please quit calling me Sir and Mr Ken - it's just plain Ken or Kenny" and he came back with "I'll try, Mr Ken."
I was up to Columbus for a funeral a while back and cars would cut in line until their turn off. Didn't seem to be any consequences, some people.
ReplyDeleteAfter the 20th or 30th car, being polite jsut gets old
ReplyDeleteyeah I heard that. we have those charity "motorcycle rides" around here and everyone pulling over for 3 hours for the bikers to go past just ain't cutting it when I gotta get to work. my boss isn't exactly going to think missing almost half my shift because of a bunch of motorcycles is an acceptable excuse.
DeleteHere in Upper Bumfuck ,it's always been that way. I did it not a week ago.
ReplyDeleteYes Sir, lights on and motorcycle escorts blocking intersections so the procession can proceed. When we buried my Father, a punk in the oncoming traffic was flashing his lights, honking his horn, and flipping us the bird as we drove past. My sentence would be over now, if I'd done what I wanted to. Tallow pot
ReplyDeleteIn Albuquerque, a funeral procession means it is a race to get to the intersection before they close it...
ReplyDeleteI remember a few years back, I had to do a job in the little town of Blairsville, GA. It's in the mountains of the northern part of the state. The roads around there are all twisty, winding, and mostly two lane. I was leaving the site, headed home, when I came to the intersection of the main highway, US-19. I came up to that stop sign just in time to see the hearse go by in the same direction I was going. Whoever it was, they must have been popular because it took a lot longer than 30 seconds for the procession to go by. When it finally did, I turned right and slipped in behind them. About 15 miles and almost an hour later, the procession finally turned off into this little country cemetery. I was tempted to follow them in because by that time I felt like I was part of the family.
ReplyDeleteThe rules are different in other places, but I'm pretty sure that around here you are not required - indeed, you probably should not - pull over for a funeral procession on the opposite side of a 4 lane, divided highway like an interstate or other major US highway. And you should never, ever, pass one or cut in. On our local country roads, as soon as I see one and recognize it for what it is, I pull over. However, I pull over only where it's safe to do so - where I can get mostly off the road, and not right in a curve.