Louisiana, Do You Legally Have to Yield to a Funeral Procession?

Louisiana residents understand this simple fact about life, "We aren't here for a long time". So, in Louisiana, "We're here for a good time". And that joie de vivre is what keeps us going strong through hurricanes in Cameron Parish, floods in Caddo Parish, and just being forced to live in Lincoln Parish. Just kidding, Lincoln Parish is fine, it's Ruston we have an issue with.

And because we love life, love to kid one another, and cherish every breath we take in Louisiana that's why funerals are such an important thing. Not only are we helping the dearly departed move on in the next phase of their soul's existence. We are celebrating their life, their experiences, and the memories they created for us while they roamed the Earth.

One of the traditions of a South Louisiana funeral usually involves the procession. You know the slow-moving line of cars, led by the hearse, that allows the grieving an easy and efficient way to move from the funeral home to the gravesite if they are not located in the same area.

The procession is usually flanked by uniformed members of law enforcement who guide the motorcade through traffic, stoplights, four-way stops, and intersections as if they were judging Paint the Town Red for the University of Louisiana's homecoming celebration. But this procession is a lot more somber, even more, somber than homecoming was during "the Baldwin Years". 

But What If You Don't Know the Guy Who Died?

Funeral processions can certainly put a crimp in your ability to navigate the city and countryside but can you legally cut through them? Can you legally go around them? In other words, is it going to take a law for you to show some respect for human life and dignity? The short answer is "yes". There are laws and you can face punishment. 

Louisiana law defines a funeral procession as two or more vehicles accompanying a deceased person or cremated human remains during daylight hours. Then the law gets pretty specific about who can and can't disrupt that "procession".  Here's how that section of the statute reads.

Except for an authorized emergency or law enforcement vehicle making use of audible or visual signals, or when directed otherwise by a law enforcement officer, pedestrians and operators of all motor vehicles shall yield the right-of-way to each vehicle participating in a funeral procession.

So, yes, legally you must yield to a funeral procession in Louisiana. There are more specifics about headlights, left turns, and police escorts that you can read, here. Now, I didn't see anything in the statute about vehicles pulling to the shoulder and stopping, but you'll probably see that happen around Louisiana as a show of respect for the deceased and for the family they leave behind.