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.

Way back my grandad Irish family. Had full blown limo horses etc. Was only a short trip to the church. But I will always slow down or let them by. And give a nod. What makes me most upset is seeing small coffins for children.

I slow down and stop and bow my head if walking.

Sounds like a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist @JarByTheDoor It’s a very particular model of therapy, there are plenty of others out there. I hope it didn’t put you off therapy in general.

I'm a funeral director in South East London. We do a horse drawn about once every 4-6 weeks.

You'd be surprised how many people don't slow down, or who try to cut in between the hearse and limos because they're in such an incredible rush. So rude and disrespectful. Also when we're trying to page the hearse away from the kerb and traffic won't stop to allow the cars to pull away. One day it will be these morons in the limos, and they'll expect other road users to slow and be respectful no doubt.

Usually we slowed down or pulled over, depending on the location. But I have not seen one in many years.

If they are going slow on the approach to the cemetery or crematorium I will stay back and flow down. I turnmy.music off too.

If there was no one behind me I’d slow a little so as not to rock the slower vehicle on the other side of the road, it is carrying a precious cargo after all, but I wouldn’t slow to a crawl or slow a lot if there was other traffic behind me.
If I was walking along a road & saw a hearse i’d stop, bow my head & put my hand across my heart out of respect for the dead person & the mourners who may be travelling behind them.
I also wouldn’t hurry to pass a funeral procession if I was behind it unless there was space to get passed created by a dual carriageway & then I would pass slowly, bless myself as I pass the coffin car & only speed up once I was a off in the distance.

The road conditions & type of road dictate what you can & can’t do in this situation & manners dictate what people will & won’t do.

Definitely slow down in the car and so a sign of the cross, if in car. Otherwise, stop as hearse passes, if walking.

Yes- this also see others do it.

You would have to be pretty rude not to!

My grandparents would always make the sign of the cross and eternal rest prayer. I’m more agnostic these days but it’s still a reflex to repeat the action if I see a funeral
procession. Have felt a bit self-conscious doing it but hearing how well received it has been by people here I’ll carry on.

@KangarooKenny
Slowing down slightly, not slamming the brakes on. If it causes a shunt, those behind are not driving with care and attention.

I’ve not read the full thread but there was a tragic news story a few years back where a driver overtook and crashed into a horse drawn hearse resulting in the death of the older more experienced horse. The younger horse was too traumatised to work and the funeral directors couldn’t get a replacement schoolmaster so went out of business. All because the driver felt they were so much more important.

Yes I do and always turn my music off too.

I remember my dads funeral - we lost him very suddenly at age 46 and although was dosed up with something (from the doctor might I add to get us through the day) I remember people tear-arsing passed the procession for the last few hundred yards to the crem (where it turned into a double lane to get off an island for those few hundred yards)
I thought how disrespectful - I know life goes on and people have places to get to but this was MY dad! 😥

I remember my nans funeral a few years ago and a guy in a 4x4 got into the outside lane and held back behind nans hearse and slowed the traffic down - I was so humbled (different stretch of road to my dads) .. wasn’t a busy time of day and not a long stretch of road but what a lovely respectful thing to do 🥰

people totally lack respect nowadays which I find terribly sad!
I will never ever overtake a funeral procession And I always turn my music off when I see one - even if coming in the opposite direction.

People asking why you turn your music off inside your car? It’s just respect - you don’t know the life story of that person in the hearse or why they are in there - you don’t know how the family following them are feeling - I have been there and was distraught losing my dad so young

its just respectful! X

At my Dad’s funeral we were taking the left turn off a roundabout and an HGV driver on our right stopped and held all the traffic behind him to let our procession through. Also a small town where people stand and bow heads

at my great aunt’s funeral in Northern Ireland in the late 1980s I recall a policeman who was directing the traffic stopping and saluting as the cortège went past. My great aunt was a very quiet, humble lady: it was very moving to see such a mark of respect given to her on her last journey.

It used to be common in the USA for oncoming traffic to actually pull to the shoulder of the road (where possible) and wait for the procession to pass. I have not seen that in years, although it is still common to slow down.

I'm in Ireland and it's the done thing to stop for the funeral cortege and bless yourself.

I sat in the front of the hearse for my nephew's funeral just after the first lockdown ended. It was a huge funeral in a rural area - a couple of thousand people lined the roads from the house to the church about 2 miles and again from the church to the cemetery approx. 3 miles.

A garda (police) car went ahead of the hearse and made oncoming cars stop. However two lycra clad cyclists decided to overtake the cortege and hearse weaving in between the cars and caused such outrage that mourners lining the road plus a few in cars shouted abuse at the selfish pair for being so disrespectful, they were lucky they weren't pulled off their bikes. They soon copped on and stopped when they saw the gardai.

I live in a city and cars and pedestrians stop.

I’ve seen people most recently stop and put their hazards on to allow a hearse to pass on the opposite side. If I’m on a faster road in the different lane I do tend to just keep going to get away from them but it behind I always make sure I allow room and don’t cut in to separate anybody.

I definitely slow down when passing a hearse on an urban road - say, up to 40 mph - and OBVIOUSLY would never, ever, overtake a hearse if it was driving slowly ahead of me. Only arseholes do that, surely? I wouldn't slow down if passing a hearse on, say, a dual carriageway where the speed of the cortege has picked up, and it would be unsafe for other cars to suddenly slow. Not really getting the comments saying it's unsafe to slow down when passing one in any circs though - you treat it as a hazard, like a horse, and on urban roads should be driving slowly and with extreme care anyway.

I always think 'they're having one of the worst days of their lives' when I pass one. That alone merits respect and not whizzing by.

Thank for all of your replies! Interesting to see different views.

I would safely slow down and turn music off especially if following. I remember once waking through a town centre and a young man being directly behind the family car (so 2 cars down from the hearse) was blasting music with the windows down. Wasn’t the hearse that caused the shoppers to come to a hault that day, look of disgust all around him was well deserved

So hearted to see how many people still have
good manners and respect,form this thread .
we all have a responsibility to teach our children the same , it’s so easy in this fast moving tech world to forget basic respect for those passed and those morning them .

The touching of the forehead is for men who no longer wear hats.
I also used to stop and hold my collar. No idea why. This was in the 60's. My I'm old.
Stupid therapist.

Yes I slow down. I also nod my had toward the hearse. If I'm walking, I stop and face the hearse.

Yes I slow down. I also nod my head toward the hearse. If I'm walking, I stop and face the hearse.

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