Bill Text: NJ S2925 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Regulates traffic for certain vehicles in funeral procession; establishes penalties for violations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-01-30 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee [S2925 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-S2925-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Regulates traffic for certain vehicles in funeral procession; establishes penalties for violation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning funeral processions and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the operator of a motor vehicle which is being driven in a funeral procession and which displays lighted headlamps and bears a flag or other insignia designating it as part of the funeral procession:
(1) Shall have the right of way at a red traffic control signal, stop sign, or intersection. The lead vehicle in a funeral procession shall obey all red traffic control signals and, in the case of a stop sign, shall first come to a complete stop before proceeding through the intersection;
(2) Shall yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle, in accordance with R.S.39:4-91; and
(3) May park or stand, notwithstanding any provision of this Title to the contrary.
b. The operator of a motor vehicle that is not in a funeral procession:
(1) Shall yield the right of way to any vehicle that is being operated in a funeral procession;
(2) Shall not join a funeral procession for the purpose of securing the right of way granted under subsection a. of this section; and
(3) Shall not pass or attempt to pass a vehicle in a funeral procession on a two-lane highway.
c. Any person who violates the provisions of subsection b. of this section shall be subject to the penalties set forth in R.S.39:4-203.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that the driver of a vehicle in a funeral procession has the right of way and establishes penalties for certain violations.
Although not explicitly addressed in current law, drivers often yield to cars in a funeral procession and permit them to pass through traffic signals, intersections, and stop signs. Under current law, a person who disrupts a funeral or funeral procession as part of demonstration activities is guilty of a disorderly persons offense. However, this provision is limited to demonstration activities and does not address the customs and practices associated with all funeral processions.
Current law also provides that a procession that takes longer than five minutes to pass a given point is to be interrupted every five minutes for the passage of traffic, and provides that authorized emergency vehicles, United States mail vehicles and physicians' vehicles have the right of way through a funeral procession. This bill provides more comprehensive guidelines for drivers participating in or encountering funeral processions.
Under the bill, the driver of a vehicle in a funeral procession which displays lighted headlamps and bears a flag or other insignia designating it as part of the funeral procession has the right of way at a red traffic control signal, stop sign, or intersection, and is permitted to park or stand. The bill requires the lead vehicle in a funeral procession to obey all red traffic control signals and first come to a complete stop before proceeding through a stop sign. In addition, the bill requires the driver of a vehicle in a funeral procession to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle, mail vehicle, and physician's vehicle, in accordance with current law.
The driver of a vehicle that is not in a funeral procession is required to yield the right of way to any vehicle that is being operated in a funeral procession. A driver of a vehicle that is not in a funeral procession is prohibited from joining a funeral procession for the purpose of securing the right of way granted under the bill, and is prohibited from passing or attempting to pass a vehicle in a funeral procession on a two-lane highway.
Any person who violates the provisions of subsection b. of the bill is subject to the general penalty provisions, set forth in R.S.39:4-203, which provide that a person guilty of a violation is subject to a penalty of between $50 and $200, imprisonment for a term not to exceed 15 days, or both.
