AIBU to overtake a hearse?

[confusedabouthormones]

So today on the way home from school I had just pulled onto a dual carriageway and there was a hearse with some cars behind it. They were going to a near by crematorium. I pulled into the outside lane and drove past it.

My mother was in the car and she had a right go at me for being disrespectful and how she was embarrassed to be in my car. When I looked in my mirror no one else had passed the hearse.

Is this a thing? In my 30 odd years driving I've never heard this.

Was I being unreasonable to pass the hearse?

Yes I've always been told never overtake a hearse as it's a sign of disrespect. I can't imagine doing it to be honest!

Single track road. Hard no. Dual carriageway, fine

When I'm dead you can all overtake me. I definitely won't haunt you 👻

Someone cut us up in a funeral procession once, just pulled out behind the hearse without checking who behind had their lights on!

Always though a dual carriageway is fine as long as you don't do a tyre screeching accelerate past. Single track absolute no.

On a dual carriageway it could have been a lot more than that, leading to fairly major congestion behind. Obviously you overtake. Safety, Highway Code, have higher priority than thinking you're showing respect.

I'd probably overtake on a dual carriageway, it's not like you're zooming past them on a residential road. I've been sat in one of those cars following a much loved deceased relative and I can't tell you I gave a single solitary shit what anyone else on the road was doing tbh.

I think providing you don't hoot to get past, it is OK!

I've seen a hearse on a motorway and I feel it would unrealistic if everyone pulled on behind it.

If you're tootling along the dual carriage way and come across a random MNer in a blue Nissan Micra at the end of the procession (because they believe nobody overtakes a funeral procession) you will naturally overtake because you don't know there's hearse 15 cars down the row.

It would be so dangerous to stop & try & drop to the back of the line & far ruder to cut in.

Just overtake in calm & sensible manner in line with the guidance.

Dual carriageway is fine.
Residential streets no.

On a dual carriageway it’s fine people are being ridiculous

It is okay. MN is often weird about driving, most people seem to not have a clue. I don't know anyone that on a dual carriageway when you're in no way interrupting or cutting into any vehicles within the procession would wait behind and leave an empty lane.

On a dual carriageway of course. And I would overtake on other roads too if my need was urgent if it were safe to do so. I wouldn't want to miss a hospital appointment, etc., given the present state of the NHS.

Our local crem is right next to a dual carriageway, we’d never get anywhere if we all just crawled behind all the hearses in procession every day!

Were you really in that much of a hurry?

It's another respectful convention that's getting lost

I don't know why the hearse has to crawl about anyway.
They're perfectly capable of following normal speed.
It's not disrespectful

It's not your relative and there's no reason they shouldn't be respectful of your time.

@Nanny0gg they were on a dual carriageway not a residential road. There's no way everyone can be expected to crawl behind a hearse on a dual carriageway

Do you know what a dual carriageway is?!

I would overtake on a dual-carriageway. I wouldn't zoom past but I would definitely overtake. It keeps the flow of traffic and there's absolutely no reason for drivers not part of the cortege to be driving in it or behind it.

They were going to a near by crematorium.

So no need to pass

I don't think it's an issue on a dual carriage way as long as you don't pull back in till some way ahead. At junctions/roundabouts I always let them go if I have right of way and let the funeral procession go. On single roads you obviously never would.

Exactly! AIBU gets more nuts daily!

It's fine.

The reason you don't overtake a hearse is because splitting the hearse and the following cars is disrespectful.

On a dual carriageway it's not a problem, because you just pass the lot. Maybe don't go a million miles an hour with your engine revving, but overtaking itself is fine.

That's the second post I've seen this week where the first poster doesn't have a clue but dishes out their ill-informed viewpoint as fact.

I disagree. It's fine to go ahead if its safe. Much better than building up extra traffic on a dual carriageway.

Don't overthink it. In fact it's fine on any road as long as it's safe. If you want to wait to be polite that's up to you but its not necessary.

Sometimes people are in a rush and there might be 20 funeral cars going slow, daft to wait for them all to pass if you can go on.

Yes it is.

Might not be to you but to many (most people) they appreciate that it's the deceased's final journey and that's the convention