Doug Clark talks funeral processions:

William Sisk was riding in a funeral procession, and it almost ended up being his own.

“I wish I’d gone skydiving that day. I’d have been a hundred times safer,” the Greensboro man said of March 25, 2004.

Sisk, 46, was badly injured in a collision at the intersection of Holden Road and Spring Garden Street. His life since then has been consumed by medical treatments, “constant pain” and an effort to assign blame for the accident.

It’s not going well. …

Earlier this month, his bid to hold the city of Greensboro liable for damages was turned down — emphatically — by the N.C. Court of Appeals. The unanimous decision was so clear that Sisk has little chance of getting the state Supreme Court to review it.

But his problem was obvious from the start. Sisk’s car, driven by his girlfriend, was crossing the intersection through a red light. The light was green for the motorist who hit them.

The same thing almost happened to me while sitting at the stoplight on the corner of Spring and Smith. I’ve seen way too many cars blow through red lights, so I’ve made a habit of waiting a couple of seconds and glancing through the intersection after the light turns green. Sure enough, a car blows right through the red light. Then another and yet another before the third car comes to a stop. I never saw a cop or a hearse, and didn’t notice the headlights. I could have been T-boned and wouldn’t be sitting here sharing my wisdom with you right now.

Then you’ve got the practice of people pulling over on both sides of the street in flowing traffic in order to let a funeral procession pass. I’ve locked the brakes plenty of times on streets like Aycock and West Market as behind someone pulling over to let a procession pass in the opposite direction.

With this in mind, Clark concludes that public safety should take precedence over custom:

So, what to do? Maybe it’s time to do away with a quaint old custom that originated long before there was so much traffic on the roads.

Instead of forming long processions that cross busy intersections against red lights, funeral directors should give participants directions to the cemetery and invite them to make their own way there, following all rules of the road.

They can promise not to begin the burial service until everyone arrives safely.

And even if some people get lost and arrive late, I’m sure the guest of honor won’t be offended.