Under most circumstances, Dallas drivers are not legally required to stop or yield the right-of-way to funeral processions. However, drivers are typically expected to offer this courtesy, which could play a role in personal injury cases following a car accident. Even if a driver isn’t required to pull over for a funeral procession, determining fault for the collision can be complex if an accident results because they didn’t.
If you suffer injuries in a crash involving a funeral procession, whether you were part of the procession or not, it’s essential that you work with an experienced car accident lawyer. Depending on the circumstances of the collision, various Texas laws and courtesies could impact your compensation. Working with a skilled attorney who understands those laws and courtesies can help protect your right to compensation.
Texas Laws on Funeral Processions
Texas does not have specific laws about stopping for a funeral procession. However, a few traffic laws could play a role in your civil case for damages after suffering an injury in a crash. These laws include those governing the right-of-way, explaining how drivers should react to authorized emergency vehicles, and describing the penalties for blocking or interrupting a procession.
Right-of-Way Laws
In Texas, various right-of-way laws could play a role in your injury case. For example, when approaching an intersection, drivers must obey all traffic signs and signals regarding the right-of-way. However, funeral processions do not always observe these traffic laws, such as if cars continue to go through an intersection even after the light turns red. In certain cases, the vehicles in the funeral procession could be at fault for causing an accident.
Another example is when a vehicle is turning left. Left-turning vehicles must yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic, including funeral processions. If a driver fails to yield the right-of-way and turns ahead of or between the cars participating in a funeral procession, they may be responsible for a resulting collision.
Escort Vehicles
If the funeral procession has a police escort, drivers should pull over and stop for them to pass. State law requires drivers to pull out of the way for authorized emergency vehicles, including law enforcement vehicles with lights or sirens on.
When a funeral procession has a police escort, patrol vehicles with their lights on usually precede and follow the procession. Not only should other drivers make way for the procession when it has a police escort, but these processions may also be immune to other rules of the road, such as traffic lights.
Drivers should yield the right-of-way at intersections and not expect a funeral procession with a police escort to stop for traffic signs and signals.
Blocking or Interrupting a Procession
If a driver intentionally blocks or interrupts a procession as a protest, they could be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor under Texas’s penal code. If you are part of a funeral procession and suffer an injury due to another driver intentionally blocking or interrupting the procession, you may be able to use evidence of that to demonstrate the other driver’s liability for your injuries.
Dallas-Specific Considerations
As Dallas has a significant police presence, drivers should expect a higher frequency of funeral processions to have a police escort, which could impact claims for compensation. If you get hurt in a crash involving an escorted funeral procession, it’s vital to work with a lawyer who will consider the escort when helping you seek the compensation you deserve.
Additionally, it’s common courtesy in Dallas to pull over to let a funeral procession pass. If a driver collides with a vehicle in a funeral procession, insurance companies and the courts may assign fault to that driver because of local expectations regarding how to act around a procession.
Liability for a Car Crash Involving a Funeral Procession
Determining liability for a car crash involving a funeral procession can be tricky. Various factors can be involved, such as whether the procession had a police escort or obeyed traffic laws. Additionally, case law and Texas’s modified comparative negligence rule can play a vital role:
- Case law – In Southwestern Bell Tel. v. Davis, the court acknowledged a tradition in Texas for drivers to stop for funeral processions. Because of this tradition, a driver may be liable for injuries caused if they fail to yield the right-of-way to a noticeable procession. However, this is not a black-and-white determination. If you get injured in a procession, you may still need to show that the procession was noticeable and the other driver knew or should have known you were part of it.
- Comparative negligence – Under Texas’s modified comparative negligence rule, the damages an injured party can receive are reduced by their degree of fault. And if an injured party is more than 50 percent at fault for the crash, they cannot recover compensation from other parties. An experienced car accident injury lawyer can help maximize your compensation by presenting evidence to reduce your liability.
Injured in a Dallas Car Accident? Contact Our Law Firm Today
If you were injured in a Dallas car crash involving a funeral procession, you need a lawyer who understands the applicable laws and courtesy rules surrounding funeral processions in Texas and can use them to maximize your compensation. Our firm has been helping car accident victims in the Dallas area seek the compensation they need for over 50 years. We encourage you to check out our many positive Google reviews and testimonials to see why our clients like Irene R. continually recommend working with our team:
“I have had the utmost professional Law Firm, Kraft and Associates, represent me. They heard my issues and concerns about all the medical conditions that I will be dealing with for the rest of my life. The entire law office handled my case and myself with total respect, dignity, and integrity. I could not ask for anything more. My respect for the Kraft law firm, my Attorney Mr Stewart, and his team. I would and will refer to my family and friends, and anyone to their law office.”
Contact Kraft & Associates, Attorneys at Law, P.C. at (214) 999-9999 for a free consultation about your case with a skilled car accident lawyer.
