Cycling UK Forum

On a small narrow country road in Northumberland this morning I see a funeral convoy approaching, 3 black Mercedes, occupants all in black suits. I have a baseball cap on I use for day long rides and as a sort of reflex I pull it off as they approach and hold it to my left breast. I've never done this before, but don't use any head gear in town and you don't encounter many funeral convoys on country roads when out for a ride so probably have never been faced with it.

Every driver of the cars and their front seat passengers acknowledge me. The leading driver nods. Nice to have respect from drivers.

Good for you for showing some respect.

Was cycling myself round Northumberland today. Great day for it.

reciprocal respect - well done for initiating it - lifeskill right there.

I've decided not to overtake a loaded hearse, not seen one come the other way though.

Did get overtaken by an empty hearse a couple of weeks ago - that was slightly odd.

i believe it was normal practise for men to doff their cap/hat at a passing funeral parade when gents wore hats more regularly.
i recall an elderly gentlemen doing so when it was mt grandfather's cortege, these days i think we are all far too busy to give a moments reflection on how quickly all that importance can be wiped out.

last hearse i saw was earlier this week and it was directly on my bumper as i drove at a modest 30-40mph according to speed limits and road conditions, that i could see coffin flowers via my rear view mirror made it all the more alarming, you would think the driver would have had a fairly good concept on the line between life and death.....

eileithyia wrote:i believe it was normal practise for men to doff their cap/hat at a passing funeral parade when gents wore hats more regularly.

Still doff my cap to a few gents on the way into work... (they're always out getting their morning paper as I pass)

I was brought up to stop if a funeral cortege was passing - I remember walking through the village with my gran and she made me stop and we both stood still and waited for the cars to pass, and everyone else in the street did too. I don't remember when I stopped doing it, probably when I left home. I don't know if anyone does it now.

Is it still considered bad form to overtake a funeral procession?
I remember when it was my Aunt's funeral about 20 yrs ago, my car was the last in the procession to drive out of the church grounds for the cemetary. I remember it because some scruffy oike in a tarted up hatchback tried to overtake me.
When it is my turn to be carried off, I think I'd like to go in one of those bicycle hearses that was pictured here recently, and I'd like as many people as possible to be on bikes. You're all invited

When I joined the Police in 1975 I was told that we were expected to pause and doff our helmets to a passing cortege. I did it many times during my service, and was proud to do so. Later in my service I used to pass through a busy junction near to a cemetery and often held up traffic at the lights to wave through corteges so that mourners would not get seperated - sadly, you don't see coppers on motorcycles doing it these days.

With more private cars on the road, so there are more private cars in a typical cortege and it's that much harder to spot who's who.

I did see a report a few years ago of a funeral director who tried to get round this by having some small black pennants on magnetic bases which he could loan out to the drivers of private cars so they might be identified. It doesn't seem to have caught on. Perhaps it didn't work; perhaps there's no reason for undertakers to encourage people not to use their big black funeral cars.

It's my impression that as society is becoming less religious, so we are upping the ostentatious ceremonial at what were once exclusively religious events - christenings, weddings and funerals.

We see quite a lot of funeral corteges' in Stockport flying black pennants from side windows. I think they've been doing it for some time.

Malc