Funeral Protocol

Monday, 01 March 2010 09:29 Last Updated on Monday, 05 November 2012 09:38

If you are attending a funeral the preferred approach is to stay with the funeral procession in your vehicle and follow the hearse in a single line all the way to the grave-site.

When the procession arrives at the cemetery, the funeral director will pull in at the cemetery office to attend to formalities. At this point attendees should wait in their vehicles in single file with their cars pulled over to the left hand shoulder of the road.

Once the cemetery staff  have confirmed via radio with the gravediggers that the gravesite is ready, the funeral cortege can proceed to the site with the hearse at the head of the procession.

Some attendees who are familiar with the cemetery layout prefer to zip ahead and be first to the grave site, but besides missing the opportunity to show one last gesture of respect to the deceased, this can result in the hearse having difficulty accessing the grave with the coffin, as well as causing safety hazards for gravediggers and attendees.

Thus we ask respectfully for the the sake of the ease and safety of all, that the correct etiquette is honoured.