News

Ask Matt ... about wrong-way funeral processions

By Bill Moss, Published: August 3, 2015

Q. Why do funeral processions start facing the wrong way on Church Street?

Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral Home is located on a one-way street but they have historically employed a system that seems to run against traffic. It works this way. At the conclusion of a service the attendees exit the front door of Shepherd's chapel, find their cars in the adjacent parking lot, and wait to join the procession. The pallbearers escort the casket just a few steps away to the waiting hearse parked on Church Street. Because of the layout of the funeral home, this is the most appropriate way to accomplish this. The grieving family often exits a separate door and walks just a few steps to the limousine parked along with the hearse on Church facing traffic. Since Church Street is blocked at 1st Avenue for funeral processions, safety is not an issue and all parties, escorted by city police, can proceed without interruption to the burial site.

Q. When the power, phone, or cable company works on the utility poles on our street we often hear their truck engines running for very long periods of time. Is there a policy that addresses this?

I pitched this question to Craig De Brew, Duke Energy's district manager. It it's all about power – auxiliary power. Bucket trucks must keep their engines running to operate the hydraulic system that works the bucket and other tools. DeBrew shared that Duke has actually had an “anti-idling” policy for several years. Posted in the cab of each utility truck is a 14-point checklist for when to idle and when to turn off the engine. The Duke boys must hate buying gasoline too.
To improve air quality many cities and states have strict anti-idling laws for heavy-duty trucks. North Carolina has a five minutes per hour limit but does not impose fines (idling to run hydraulic systems is exempted anyway). Even so, there is a now bill in the General Assembly to allow unlimited idling. In Atlanta, a driver can get a $500 fine if the engine idles for more than 15 minutes. In Minnesota, the fine is double that. But there has been resistance from long distance truckers. They must keep up with the laws in every state they cross plus some laws make no sense. For example, to comply with truck driving rules drivers often must stop and sleep on the road. Anti-idling laws mean that on cold nights drivers would have to get up every hour to fire up the engine for five minutes to heat the cab. New technology is on its way to address some of these issues but the solutions won't come cheap. Until then, keep on trucking.

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Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com.