Lubbock Residents Will Now Have To Pay For Their “Last Ride”

Lubbock residents now have another surcharge on being dead.

The Change

KCBD is reporting that there will now be a charge for officers to accompany a funeral procession.  I find this interesting on so many levels, first off, I always thought the officers were there to address potential traffic problems, not as an "honor" or way to lead mourners to gravesites. I guess I just had it backwards.

The Charge

Let's start with the fact that the officers deserve to be paid for their time. The charge is going to be $65 an hour with a two-hour minimum. I would also say that the police prefer to work in groups of two or more so they can have each others back. Also, you would probably need one to lead the procession and one to ride ahead to block traffic. So, you're probably looking at a bare minimum of $260 if you can keep it to two officers.

Processions

Maybe it's time to rethink these type of processions. I don't think there is any shortage of people who will ignore my advice, but why do people do this at all? The answers is, we always have. Funeral processions have been a thing going way back to ancient civilizations. The only "new" thing we added to these processions are motorized vehicles with a police escort. Times change, and we have to as well. I don't want to deny the police a payday, but the whole thing seems silly when you think about it.

Do You Have To Have Police?

So, can you have a funeral procession without the police? The answer is "yes", but it's probably not going to have the effect or impact that you want it to. You'll probably also have to deal with other drivers weaving in and out of it. There's no law saying that anyone has to pull over for a funeral procession, it's only done as a sign of respect. It's all a bit much to think of, but any decisions you make now can save you and your family some tough decisions later.