AIBU to overtake a hearse?

Back in the day it was horses and carts and when cars existed there was nowhere near the volume that there is now. Roads have been expanded to accommodate this. Overtaking on a dual carriageway takes nothing from mourners, it doesn't impact their journey.

I don't think anybody is suggesting that they should or would overtake on a single lane road, however tempting. I wouldn't do it, not so much for convention but for safety because you have no idea how long the line is that your trailing behind.

I live near a crematorium, it's just off a congested 50 mph 2-lane section of the motorway. Most funerals cars have to use the motorway, overtaking is normal or there would be traffic chaos.

Yes. It is just simply not done.

Overtaking a hearse on a dual carriage way is absolutely fine.

I'd have to be going somewhere with an urgent deadline to do it on a normal road though.

It was fine until you starting spinning donuts across the graveyard.

All the PPs who have said it's fine have all acknowledged it's because it was a second lane. None of those insisting it's terrible have acknowledged that at all and that it's different from overtaking on a single lane road.

Have any of the "you're awful and disrespectful" people actually noticed she was talking about a second lane. Does that really not change your opinion and do you really think all traffic should stay slowly in one lane of a multi-lane road just because there's a hearse ahead?

From about 10 cars you wouldn't be able to see why lane 2 is empty anyway so you'd naturally pull in to it.

On a due carriageway it's fine. No-one is expected to drive at 30 for miles if they are not part of the cortege.

I have done this and will do so again no doubt.

Duel carriage way? I think it’s fine. Being the douche who overtook me and slotted himself between my car and the hearse on the way to my FILs cremation while I’d got my MIL in the car? Not okay.

I was in a funeral procession on Friday and it was clear we were all slowly following the hearse. Someone did exactly that and we all found it very very disrespectful. We all hoped that he felt deep deep shame when we all turned into the crem.
So yes very disrespectful.

It's ok to overtake on a dual carriageway - but maybe don't burn past them in a tearing hurry. Not ok on smaller roads and never split to limousines and hearse.

We live on a local route to a fairly busy cemetery and my DH is in the military. If he sees a hearse go by when he's walking to work in uniform he will salute and the chief undertaker will generally acknowledge with a nod of his head. If out of uniform DH will stop and briefly bow his head. I would do the same. Again this courtesy is generally acknowledged by the undertaker/funeral director.

I probably wouldn’t overtake on a duel carriageway if it was very close to the cemetery but I think it is ok to. Definitely not on a single carriageway though. I was stuck behind a hearse on my street for quite a while a few weeks ago waiting for the family to get in the limo and then they had someone walking ahead of the hearse until they got to the end of my road. I could have easily squeezed past them but I felt that would be disrespectful so I just waited patiently.

My grandads funeral procession went down a dual carriageway. People overtook us; we didn’t not feel disrespected. On a dual carriageway it’s fine.

My husbands nan had a very big family. There were a lot of us following behind her hearse on regular roads with various junctions and roundabouts. No one split up the funeral procession. Which I was quite amazed by, a lot of us were in regular cars so it’d be hard to tell who’s part of the funeral and what’s normal traffic. I wouldn’t have felt annoyed or disrespected if someone got it wrong.

Yes I would over take on a dual carriageway. I would have been worried to be driving so slowly on a dual carriage way, especially if I was the one at the back.

But equally, they are not more important than anyone else on the road.

Not necessary for everyone. We can all have our opinions. There is no right or wrong here.

I’d overtake on any road op.

You only see hearses going slowly not crematorium vans or private ambulances so dead bodies must be transported at speeds above 15m per hour when no one’s looking and then slowly driven to the crem when the family’s there.

It’s cheered me right up though the thought of your poor mum hanging her head in shame as you sped past a hearse and mourners she doesn’t know from Adam.

It's convention not to.

Mind you, when we were in the mourners car following MiL 's hearse to the crem, we all got stuck behind a bin lorry. So had to go even slower than normal as they didn't let us pass. It lightened the mood as we were all laughing about how funny she would have found it.

And actually, we don't know how fast the cortege was going.

The OP didn't mention the speed or saying they were crawling

Although I highly doubt they were doing 60...

Undertaker's daughter here - this is correct. And yes, definitely be mindful at junctions you don't 'nip out' and get between the hearse and cars.

On a dual carriageway it’s perfectly fine. Ridiculous not to. On a local rd generally not.

Ridiculous anyone thinks you shouldn't overtake on a dual carriageway.

I've been in a funeral car on the motorway. The idea that hundreds of cars should all stay in lane 1 doing whatever speed we were doing is ludicrous.

OP you did absolutely nothing wrong.

I quite fancy my last journey having a bit of excitement

Rattled about?
They can go at a normal rate. They choose not to under the guise of respecfulness.

I don't know how many funerals (especially of close friends/family) you've been to but it matters to the mourners

And unless you're in an ambulance or fire engine you're not more important than they are

It was my father in laws funeral on Thursday and we didn't even notice people overtaking on the dual carriage way. We did notice when a van cut between the hearse and the limousine. That wasn't nice at all.