Funeral "escort"

Jamey@NNE

Member
Jun 23, 2011
1,661
Ocoee, Florida
Saw this while sitting at a traffic light. I heard dual airhorns and from time they blocked the intersection on state rd 50 I had enough time to pull my phone out of my back pocket, unlock it and put it on video before the funeral got there.... lights are all white.

 

Tom

Member
Dec 18, 2010
3,083
Taunton, MA

Jeremy0966

Member
Aug 12, 2012
248
Idaho
MiamiJeff said:
Here is one in Miami .. :eek: Hold on to your seat .. !

http://youtu.be/m9re1u_gcUA

Im sorry but WTF :eek: Sirens, red and blue lights, passing on opposite side of traffic, and clearly not giving a hell about the speed limit for a funeral!? None of that can be legal, can it??? Not even when there is a full LEO funeral for a officer are sirens used for respect of the deceased. And i thought funeral lighting was limited to purple, amber and clear lighting?
 

lafd55

Member
May 27, 2010
2,393
New York, USA
Find the IP and turn them in.... Lol. But kinda serious, because that is just the most F'ed up thing I have ever seen. Now I don't know Florida Law, but that CAN NOT be legal!!!
 

dovy6

Member
May 18, 2011
206
Brooklyn
Don't you remember the part of your EVOC training where they taught you how when you go through a light that turns red as you go through it, you are then to BACK INTO THE INTERSECTION!?!?!
 

WS224

Member
Nov 28, 2010
1,049
West Tennessee
Funeral escorts should be illegal. It's a miracle there are not more people killed during the fiasco from the church to the cemetery. Wait, maybe that's part of the business plan.......
 

foxtrot5

New Member
Sep 26, 2011
3,002
Charleston Area, SC, US
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot(hey, thats me!)?! These guys are friggin nuts. Besides their break neck driving and illegal lighting/sirens I know I saw them pass right through at least one intersection with a traffic control device. A funeral procession is LONG (well this one was) and there's no way that the light is staying green for the entire thing. If you're going to encourage the procession to "break" the intersection, make sure they can do it safely. The guy 8 cars back in line shouldn't have to fight for control of the intersection. Either you hold every intersection with a negative (or potentially negative) control device or don't hold any.


My personal oppinion on funeral escorts are that a request should be made to a Chief LEO for a request for an escort with a legitmate reason. "He has 80 friends and family members and each will be driving their own vehicle" is NOT a legitmate request. However "He was a decorated war veteran with 20+ years of active duty in the US Armed Forces and was discharged honorably" is. Any Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman, LEO, FF, EMT or Medic killed in the line of duty should automatically qualify for full honor guard and escort by a recognized public agency.
 

lafd55

Member
May 27, 2010
2,393
New York, USA
The only time I have seen a LEO escort, and also the only reasons to have a LEO escort, is for present servicemen/women, LE officer, firefighter, other things of that nature, and to stop traffic at the entrance to a cemetary for the procession. I have seen local PD doing that and don't mind.
 

RL1

Member
May 20, 2010
1,649
Ga
Jeremy0966 said:
Im sorry but WTF :eek: Sirens, red and blue lights, passing on opposite side of traffic, and clearly not giving a hell about the speed limit for a funeral!? None of that can be legal, can it??? Not even when there is a full LEO funeral for a officer are sirens used for respect of the deceased. And i thought funeral lighting was limited to purple, amber and clear lighting?


The lights actually looked green and amber after I watched it again.
 

Shawn L

Member
May 21, 2010
2,477
Corbett, Oregon
man what would I give to live in florida...... I would drive over the front of that idiot in the first car with my deuce and a half.... how would that look in court? bet it would sorta rain on their parade. I like he comments at about 11:30 when he is directing "mama" to stay on the curb..... very professional and classy too.
 

7d9_z28

New Member
Mar 15, 2012
3,048
West Michigan
The Miami video made me poop my pants.


Forcing oncoming traffic off the road, backing into intersections, at around 13 minutes did he actually stop the procession? Isn't the point to keep it going?


And was he carrying a gun? WHY?!?!?


Here in MI, every funeral procession I have seen and been in, has had only the purple on the hearse, and a couple (same funeral home) had a black suburban with strobe HAWs all around. And he didn't break every law imaginable to block traffic, he just drove with us kind of ahead to "alert" other traffic we were coming.
 

dg0223

Member
Feb 20, 2011
703
USA/Texas
lafd55 said:
The only time I have seen a LEO escort, and also the only reasons to have a LEO escort, is for present servicemen/women, LE officer, firefighter, other things of that nature, and to stop traffic at the entrance to a cemetary for the procession. I have seen local PD doing that and don't mind.

Why should people in the emergency services/military be the only ones to have a funeral escort? That doesn't make any sense. If anything, the only people who should be allowed to participate in funeral escorts should be law enforcement.


Where I live, either the local police department, the sheriff's department, or constables do funeral escorts. If anything, private companies should not be allowed to do them. Law enforcement officials have the appropriate vehicles and training to escort funeral processions. If anything, it is a safety issue dealing with traffic. Who better to ensure that safety than those who have been properly trained to do so?
 

Mike L.

Member
May 21, 2010
261
Everett, WA
I don't mind private funeral escorts if done properly and within the law. We have one company here that employs retired police and fire. They use motor cycles with red lights and sirens and are very professional.


I think a professional company will understand that their job is to ensure the safety of everyone rather than trying to break every traffic law on the books.
 

NCFD43

Member
Oct 18, 2010
534
Northeast Ohio
That video reminds me of watching the presidential motorcades. They looked more like they were protecting a VIP than escorting a family in mourning to lay their family member to rest. They made enough noise to wake the dead...
 

lafd55

Member
May 27, 2010
2,393
New York, USA
Mike L. said:
I don't mind private funeral escorts if done properly and within the law. We have one company here that employs retired police and fire. They use motor cycles with red lights and sirens and are very professional.

I think a professional company will understand that their job is to ensure the safety of everyone rather than trying to break every traffic law on the books.
Also around me they are retired PD/FD, but most of times it is a second job for LEOs and FFs.
 

timlinson

New Member
Apr 11, 2011
513
North Dakota
At 24:23 of the second video there's an FHP cruiser in the traffic. How does he not get curious as to what is going on??
 

ryan81986

Member
Apr 13, 2011
524
Boston, MA
In the first video, if I was stuck at a green light and the funeral procession hadn't made it there yet I would have blow past that stupid bastard.
 

Cam

Member
May 20, 2010
247
MO
foxtrot5 said:
My personal oppinion on funeral escorts are that a request should be made to a Chief LEO for a request for an escort with a legitmate reason. "He has 80 friends and family members and each will be driving their own vehicle" is NOT a legitmate request. However "He was a decorated war veteran with 20+ years of active duty in the US Armed Forces and was discharged honorably" is. Any Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman, LEO, FF, EMT or Medic killed in the line of duty should automatically qualify for full honor guard and escort by a recognized public agency.

So some government bureaucrat should be in charge of this? I dont think so. We need to be looking for ways to get government out of areas. not add them.
 

7d9_z28

New Member
Mar 15, 2012
3,048
West Michigan
Cam said:
So some government bureaucrat should be in charge of this? I dont think so. We need to be looking for ways to get government out of areas. not add them.

It's like, a conspiracy man.....
 

boboloo

Member
Jun 5, 2012
261
Kalamazoo, MI
To get to the heart of the matter, my thought is that the deceased is (likely) a decades long tax payer in his/her community. Local law enforcement should consider the funeral escort as a gesture of appreciation for the years of tax support. If family requests a escort and it is not unsafe to do so, it should be done.
 

stansdds

Member
May 25, 2010
3,533
U.S.A., Virginia
Around here, funeral escorts are paid for by whomever is paying for the funeral. The escorts themselves are uniformed police officers in marked patrol cars, typically two patrol cars make up the escort.


I do not like the concept of privately owned vehicles equipped with sirens being used for escort service on a public street. Leave the sirens (and blue and red lights) to the fire, ems, and LEO personnel.
 
Nov 29, 2011
27
UK
that video is a bit :eek: - do these escort companies have the legal authority to direct traffic? If they are blocking a junction and the cars waiting to go across are on green then I am not sure I would wait if they are not legally allowed to stop me.


Escorting anything is not a task to be taken lightly, it needs the right resources/skills and proper pre-planning. There are sometimes requirements for us to provide ambulance escorts, if it is a proper non-stop escort then it needs a minimum of four marked bikes/cars for one ambulance! I can't see how you can escort a line of what 15 odd vehicles with 2/3 plain cars. It is just asking for trouble as you can see the speed they need to get up to get to the front, I can't imagine if I was a member of the family that I would get any comfort out of watching a car scream past me with a siren going. The Met Police Special Escort Group here don't even use sirens, they say that everyone is too used to hearing sirens to take any notice so they use electric whistles.
 

JazzDad

Member
Aug 5, 2011
5,165
USA
(Excuse me if I am repeating myself.)


I had a friend comment on funeral escorts. He said, 'Why should they use reds lights and sirens to get a dead body to the cemetery? When you're dead, there's no rush. I'd like red lights and sirens to get me through the Houston traffic every day, so I wouldn't be late for work.'
 

jatchinson

Member
Feb 25, 2012
111
West Michigan
Who needs 5.11 pants, firearms and handcuffs for a funeral escort? Apparently the police have no problem with this, or maybe the troopers at the end of the video stuck in traffic had something to say........ Perhaps the video was edited short :undecided:
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Strobe Craft

Member
Jul 23, 2011
332
IL
Lights, sirens, shitty driving, reckless driving, and even a gun!? Driving on the wrong side of the road to? SUPER SLOPPY!! They manage to break every rule in the book, and somehow manage not to injure anyone. This is just plain out stupid and unprofessional! I saw several cops, im honestly surprised none had a little chat with them..just wow everything!! :duh:
 

rwo978

Member
May 21, 2010
5,196
ND, USA
17:20s, passed 2 FHP cars. So, their reckless shennanigans must be OK in their eyes.


OTH, where's elite?


I've done plenty of escorts, usually with a single car. I haven't had the need to drive like a tool, just lead the line. I rarely, if ever, use the siren. Kindof disrespectful IMHO, flying by the grieving family with peak & hold wailing.
 

CodeMan

Member
Dec 27, 2012
543
Central Florida
NotNormalEnterprisesLLC said:
Saw this while sitting at a traffic light. I heard dual airhorns and from time they blocked the intersection on state rd 50 I had enough time to pull my phone out of my back pocket, unlock it and put it on video before the funeral got there.... lights are all white.





Accually this is becoming the norm, there are private firms (contract security) with the florida color mandated "Green and Amber" lighting doing funeral escorts. (they typically use marked motorcycles or company marked patrol cars) since they are cheaper than hiring from local departments.. The unmarked cars in the video with sirens and air horns coupled with the irratic driving is just plain scary.... WoW.. :hopeless:
 

Jecfire

Member
May 28, 2010
62
USA, Florida
FSS 316.1974 covers Funeral escorts in the State of Florida. All non-law enforcement funeral escort vehicles and funeral lead vehicles shall be equipped with at least one lighted circulation lamp exhibiting an amber or purple light or lens visible under normal atmospheric conditions for a distance of 500 feet from the front of the vehicle. Flashing amber or purple lights may be used only when such vehicles are used in a funeral procession.


Any law enforcement funeral escort vehicle may be equipped with red, blue, or amber flashing lights which meet the criteria established in paragraph above.


There is no provision in Florida State Statute for use of a siren during funeral escort. Furthermore, the lead funeral vehicle must LAWFULLY (cannot violate traffic control device) enter the intersection first, control the intersection, and then the rest of the vehicles in the funeral procession can legally disregard the traffic control device and all other traffic must yield the right of way to the procession.


Off duty law enforcement officers use their issued vehicles and are given some leeway with the use of siren during escort. However, as stated in an earlier post, private companies are now doing a majority of the escorts. Many are retired LEOs or just certified security guards and are in fact violating the law. The only vehicles allowed to have red or blue lights in a funeral escort are “authorized” law enforcement vehicles. Privately owned vehicles do not qualify as they are not owned or affiliated with a law enforcement agency. I do know of some agencies that authorize personally owned vehicles to be used for law enforcement business, but this has been for active officers not retired.
 

lafd55

Member
May 27, 2010
2,393
New York, USA
NotNormalEnterprisesLLC said:
I asked some brass in one of the so's about it and he said " if they wernt allowed they wouldn't be doing it"
If that statement were true we wouldn't have a whacker page with impersonators, lol.
 

CodeMan

Member
Dec 27, 2012
543
Central Florida
Jecfire said:
FSS 316.1974 covers Funeral escorts in the State of Florida. All non-law enforcement funeral escort vehicles and funeral lead vehicles shall be equipped with at least one lighted circulation lamp exhibiting an amber or purple light or lens visible under normal atmospheric conditions for a distance of 500 feet from the front of the vehicle. Flashing amber or purple lights may be used only when such vehicles are used in a funeral procession.

Any law enforcement funeral escort vehicle may be equipped with red, blue, or amber flashing lights which meet the criteria established in paragraph above.


There is no provision in Florida State Statute for use of a siren during funeral escort. Furthermore, the lead funeral vehicle must LAWFULLY (cannot violate traffic control device) enter the intersection first, control the intersection, and then the rest of the vehicles in the funeral procession can legally disregard the traffic control device and all other traffic must yield the right of way to the procession.


Off duty law enforcement officers use their issued vehicles and are given some leeway with the use of siren during escort. However, as stated in an earlier post, private companies are now doing a majority of the escorts. Many are retired LEOs or just certified security guards and are in fact violating the law. The only vehicles allowed to have red or blue lights in a funeral escort are “authorized” law enforcement vehicles. Privately owned vehicles do not qualify as they are not owned or affiliated with a law enforcement agency. I do know of some agencies that authorize personally owned vehicles to be used for law enforcement business, but this has been for active officers not retired.

Typically the lead car and sometimes the hearse may have a magenta light, most might have an amber one. the use of sirens on a security vehicle isnt allowed period, they (the security vehicle) can have green and amber as long as its 50% green & 50% amber (per the state of florida). I didnt see any vehicles displaying blue lights, I did see green. good info though :)


FSS.316.2397 Certain lights prohibited; exceptions.


(1) No person shall drive or move or cause to be moved any vehicle or equipment upon any highway within this state with any lamp or device thereon showing or displaying a red or blue light visible from directly in front thereof except for certain vehicles hereinafter provided.


(2) It is expressly prohibited for any vehicle or equipment, except police vehicles, to show or display blue lights. However, vehicles owned, operated, or leased by the Department of Corrections or any county correctional agency may show or display blue lights when responding to emergencies.


(3) Vehicles of the fire department and fire patrol, including vehicles of volunteer firefighters as permitted under s. 316.2398, vehicles of medical staff physicians or technicians of medical facilities licensed by the state as authorized under s. 316.2398, ambulances as authorized under this chapter, and buses and taxicabs as authorized under s. 316.2399 are permitted to show or display red lights. Vehicles of the fire department, fire patrol, police vehicles, and such ambulances and emergency vehicles of municipal and county departments, public service corporations operated by private corporations, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Department of Corrections as are designated or authorized by their respective department or the chief of police of an incorporated city or any sheriff of any county are hereby authorized to operate emergency lights and sirens in an emergency. Wreckers, mosquito control fog and spray vehicles, and emergency vehicles of governmental departments or public service corporations may show or display amber lights when in actual operation or when a hazard exists provided they are not used going to and from the scene of operation or hazard without specific authorization of a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency. Wreckers must use amber rotating or flashing lights while performing recoveries and loading on the roadside day or night, and may use such lights while towing a vehicle on wheel lifts, slings, or under reach if the operator of the wrecker deems such lights necessary. A flatbed, car carrier, or rollback may not use amber rotating or flashing lights when hauling a vehicle on the bed unless it creates a hazard to other motorists because of protruding objects. Further, escort vehicles may show or display amber lights when in the actual process of escorting overdimensioned equipment, material, or buildings as authorized by law. Vehicles owned or leased by private security agencies may show or display green and amber lights, with either color being no greater than 50 percent of the lights displayed, while the security personnel are engaged in security duties on private or public property.


(4) Road or street maintenance equipment, road or street maintenance vehicles, road service vehicles, refuse collection vehicles, petroleum tankers, and mail carrier vehicles may show or display amber lights when in operation or a hazard exists.


(5) Road maintenance and construction equipment and vehicles may display flashing white lights or flashing white strobe lights when in operation and where a hazard exists. Additionally, school buses and vehicles that are used to transport farm workers may display flashing white strobe lights.


(6) All lighting equipment heretofore referred to shall meet all requirements as set forth in s. 316.241.


(7) Flashing lights are prohibited on vehicles except as a means of indicating a right or left turn, to change lanes, or to indicate that the vehicle is lawfully stopped or disabled upon the highway or except that the lamps authorized in subsections (1), (2), (3), (4), and (9) and s. 316.235(5) are permitted to flash.


(8) Subsections (1) and (7) do not apply to police, fire, or authorized emergency vehicles while in the performance of their necessary duties.


(9) Flashing red lights may be used by emergency response vehicles of the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Health when responding to an emergency in the line of duty.


(10) A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318.


This FS. is why we dont see police officers with blue lights in their POV's (some agencies may allow it on a needed basis) But most officers I know leave the police look at home when not working.. ;)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Forum Statistics

Threads
53,962
Messages
449,805
Members
19,102
Latest member
Hilux01

About Us

  • Since 1997, eLightbars has been the premier venue for all things emergency warning equipment. Discussions, classified listings, pictures, videos, chat, & more! Our staff members strive to keep the forums organized and clutter-free. All of our offerings are free-of-charge with all costs offset by banner advertising. Premium offerings are available to improve your experience.

User Menu

Secure Browsing & Transactions

eLightbars.org uses SSL to secure all traffic between our server and your browsing device. All browsing and transactions within are secured by an SSL Certificate with high-strength encryption.