Slowing down for a hearse?

[WrendaleCountryDogs]

Growing up, my mum always slowed down when driving and a hearse was coming the opposite direction. As a result, I do the same.
Do you?? I've never seena nobody else do it.

Yes this describes it perfectly here too except I’m in a large East coast town. The funerals go down through the Main Street and back up the Main Street to the cemetery and every car on the road will stop until the cortege passes unless they don’t know the custom but even then they are able to see what the car in front does.

I slow down when I see a hearse, and I turn my music off. I never look at the mourners, I think that's somehow intrusive.

You would not be causing a shunt. A bad driver not leaving a big enough gap would be causing a shunt.

My mum shuts the downstairs curtains
To show respect and give the family
Privacy. I believe it used to be the done thing.

@Ablababla
we were always taught to stop and hold our collars aswell, no idea why

We were in my father's funeral procession near the crem, 35 years ago and an elderly gent at a bus stop took off his cap and bowed as we went past.
It still makes me cry now. Such a lovely gesture.

I don't slow down if I'm going in the opposite direction, but do say a prayer for the deceased and loved ones. If behind I leave a large gap to make extra sure I don't look like an impatient twat.

How can slowing down because a hearse passes be dangerous driving? When you put your foot on the brake pedal the brake lights come on so that other road users behind you are aware of your intentions.

oh wow! That’s really interesting I’d always thought it was a mark of respect! Not a superstition. I feel a bit bad now.

my mum would never describe herself as a cockney, but she was born within the sound of bow bells, so I guess collar and swallow would rhyme round where she grew up.

I remember about 20 years ago travelling through some small villages in Scotland in a procession of cars following a hearse to the crematorium. We passed some roadworks and there were 2 workmen waist deep in a hole. They removed their caps and stood with their heads bowed till we passed. It’s bringing a lump to my throat now just thinking about it.
I thought it was a thing of the past until last week travelling in a family funeral procession of cars behind the hearse. We were driving through a built up area in the city and a young man pushing his toddler in a buggy removed his beanie hat and stood still till we passed. I found it really moving.

People still use the black horse drawn funeral coaches. I really like them. However a few years ago there was a crash where one of the beautiful horses was killed by a speeding driver who turned out to be a retired or off duty policewoman.
A bit of respect would have gone a long way that day. The news articles seem to have vanished, no surprise I suppose. I did find another one while I was looking

Sadly it happens more often than I realised:
www.itv.com/news/wales/2016-02-26/police-investigating-after-funeral-cortege-horse-killed

People are in so much of a rush these days, it's all about them and stuff everyone else.

I do.

We were always taught (Catholic upbringing) to stop walking and make the sign of the cross or to slow down (if safe to do so) in car as a mark of respect. I tend to walk a lot so do stop and make the sign of the cross I know that looks batshit but hey ho. I say an eternal rest prayer for the deceased if I've read a newspaper article or heard it on the news that someone has died. I'll get my coat now.

Not on a dual carriageway for reasons of safety and not if I'm approaching from the opposite direction.

But on a single carriageway I would never overtake, and I bow my head if a cortege passes me when I'm on foot.

I'm not Catholic, but I think these are beautiful gestures.

I slowdown, and I always try not to get between any funeral cars.

At my grandmother's funeral I was drivingt the first 'normal' car behind the funeral cars. They gave me a magnetic sign for the roof, about the size of an egg box, with a cross on it.

The procession went through a busy town centre on a Saturday morning, with already slow moving traffic. It was a huge struggle stopping other drivers from nipping between my car and the funeral car at roundabouts and junctions. I lost the struggle eventually or there'd have been a collision. People were just bloody rude!

I always slow down too. My grandfather passed away 18 months ago, RAF veteran, and down our high street (where he had lived with my grandma their whole marriage, 75+ years) he had a RAF soldier with a flag leading the hearse, it isn't a long high Street, but it was such a proud honourable moment, absolutely tarnished by the cretins that had to overtake because god forbid they waited a few moments.
Broke my heart to see him disrespected in death like that.

That's awful - very disrespectful.

I always salute when passing one. No idea where I got the idea from

When my grandpa died, there was a crash on the road between the chapel and the cemetery, and the back end of the procession got cut off while the front end and the hearse sailed on by! Those of us at the back had to do a mad detour round the back lanes to get there. I don’t know quite how it happened - or didn’t involve anyone who’d been at the funeral, so whether someone had cut in and then had a prang or whether it was someone coming the other way I don’t know. It was so stressful though, everyone was waiting for us and we were driving though the cemetery looking for the right place while people stared at us. Awful.

I always would, as long as it is safe to do so. I remember my dad's funeral; it was utterly wretched (he died very suddenly and tragically, well before his time). As we went along the main road there was a group of council workers chain-sawing some dodgy trees. They all of them, to a man, stopped their saws on sighting the hearse and removed their helmets as we went past. We didn't know any of them but that meant so, so much.

I also remember my lovely great-aunt's funeral (the first of my close relatives to pass away) and a couple of utter twunts on motorbikes noisily cutting up the hearse on a roundabout. That stayed with me for a while.

@IsThisNameTaken

If someone is standing at the edge of the pavement, then yes the hearse should stop, just like any other vehicle

I would step right back to make it very clear I was content to wait and let the hearse past

@Ohshitx - I remember that as my Grampa's hearse - we were driving about 20 miles from the funeral service to the burial site and had to pass temporary traffic lights as the road was being worked on. The men in charge of the lights kept our side at "green" so the funeral procession could pass through, whilst the others bowed their heads. It was a small community where everybody knew everybody else and was really touching.

I slow down. I also stop when they pass me if I'm walking.

The last funeral I went to though, people behaved atrociously, pushing in to the procession, going at lights before the procession had finished crossing the road - I was taught to wait at lights if they were crossing my lane and you can tell who is in the procession by how they are dressed, they have their lights on or they have a black flag. I was taught to keep following a procession and ignore the lights in this instance as people will wait.

Well, all I can say is, respect has gone so far out the window, its a fucking disgrace.

Aside from the respect thing, people are following people and may not know where they are going.

Many people disgust me nowadays.