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East District Blotter

Rules of the Road

December 4, 2014 9:54 AM

Most of us learned about the "right-of-way" while in Driver's Education, but it was commonly in reference to stop signs and traffic lights. A lesson that may not have stuck with you is the rules of right-of-way when it comes to different and less frequent circumstances. It is important to know where and when these rules apply, because Wisconsin State Law grants special privileges for certain circumstances, like funeral processions.

Funeral processions are given the right-of-way in most instances, but they must follow certain laws, as well. Wisconsin legislation dictates that the lead car of the funeral procession must follow traffic signals like stopping at a stop sign, but once the lead car has proceeded through the intersection, the remaining cars in the procession do not need to stop and are granted the right-of-way until all of the procession has made it through. As a vehicle outside of the procession, it is illegal to merge into the group and you must wait until the procession has ended to continue into traffic. The only time these laws would not apply would be if a police officer is directing traffic and they instruct you to merge into the procession.

Vehicles involved in funeral processions can be identified by small flags that are placed on the car or many will have their hazard lights on as a sign of their involvement. These processions can be found anywhere, so it's important to always be observant, especially around cemeteries, to ensure that you are not interrupting the service.

For more information about the Wisconsin State Laws, please visit the site below.

Authored by Britni Sutton


Wisconsin State Legislature

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