Vehicles and Routes

How many vehicles do you require and what route do you want the cortège to take? – 12 January 2018?

Please note: cortège refers to the hearse and any following vehicles.

In the past, families tended to repeat the Funeral arrangements their relatives had used – the same funeral director, the same style of coffin, the same number of vehicles etc. Nowadays, there are many more choices available and there is a more relaxed attitude to what is possible.

The most commonly booked funeral vehicles were a motorised hearse and one limousine to take the main family mourners to the service. More limousines were used in the case of large families and/or a larger budget

What Vehicles?

Today, the majority still book a motorised hearse. This transports the coffin, the flowers,  the Funeral Director and the coffin bearers. Standard limousines take a maximum of six passengers behind the drivers screen, but some Funeral Directors may be able to make the seventh seat (the one next to the driver) available to a family member (this needs to be arranged prior to the day of the funeral). For insurance reasons, children are considered to be full passengers and child seats must be provided by the family if necessary.

Different Funeral Directors have different vehicle availability. Some are able to provide estate or saloon cars or minibuses (eight seater plus) type vehicles which are cheaper than a limousine. This may be a welcome alternative if families do not wish to be so formal or are on a tight budget – it’s worth enquiring.

Some families decide they do not wish to be driven and prefer to take their own vehicles. There are advantages and disadvantages to this and, obviously, it is the family’s choice.

If families elect to drive themselves, they can still follow the hearse if they wish. Alternatively, they can meet it at its destination. Some Funeral Directors even have markers (such as a black flag or signs for the back windows) that following cars can use to identify them and help keep the cortège together. Failing that, following cars may be asked to use headlights to indicate to other road users that they are part of the cortège.

The advantage of booking a limousine is that mourners don’t have to worry about driving if they are upset and they can stay close to their loved one in the hearse. The route is planned by the Funeral Director and a door-to-door service is provided. The Funeral Director is also on hand to organise parking and answer any questions.

If a funeral car is booked, it will collect the family, take them to the service then return them afterwards either home or to the catering venue. In the latter case, the family then need to make their own way home either by taxi, friends or a car left by them prior to the service.

Sometimes, the cortège can include a special vehicle related to the life of the deceased, usually organised by friends or work colleagues, such as a fire engine, farm tractor, horse rider or a motorcycle convoy.

It is a personal choice but there has been a trend towards hearse-only funerals with families travelling under their own steam (this is certainly cheaper). If this is the case, the family have their vehicles on hand for returning home or to a venue after the service. Families also tend to be more geographically dispersed than in past times, and they may be travelling from different parts of the country or even different countries, so this option may be more practical.

The tradition has been to leave from the deceased address to proceed slowly from the home, usually with the Funeral Director walking in front of the hearse as a mark of respect. This is not always possible if the house has been emptied, the road is dangerous or the deceased lived in care.

Families are asked to choose how the coffin will be transported when they arrange the funeral. As mentioned previously, a motorised hearse is the most popular choice, but other vehicles can be used. These are just a few examples:

• Estate car – some budget or DIY funerals
• A horse-drawn hearse – pulled by two or four black or white horses
• Motorcycle hearse – for motorbike enthusiasts
• Flat bedded trucks – some traveller funerals
• Tractors with trailers

In fact, families can be quite ingenious in providing vehicles appropriate to the deceased. The conditions are that the vehicle must be roadworthy and such that it is possible to load, secure and unload the coffin safely.

Obviously there may be cost implications.

What Route?

The Funeral Director will normally ask the family if they wish the cortège to take a specific route to the service. For example, past a previous residence, a football ground, favourite pub etc. It may be possible to pause for a few moments or slow down at a special landmark.

It is important that the family make their own choices. They may not have any preferences or they may not realise that they can ask to make things a bit more special.

Postscript

All your requirements and requests should be discussed when you arrange the funeral. I hope this blog helps you consider the options that you have so that you can have the funeral YOU want for your loved one.