Safe Driving Tips for Funeral Service Professionals

Picture this: You are driving to pick up death certificates from the local registrar's office. It's a gloomy afternoon, and your mind is preoccupied with thoughts about the upcoming funeral arrangements for this week. As you navigate through traffic, your phone vibrates on the passenger seat, alerting you to a new text message. You've been waiting to hear back from church regarding the deacon's availability this week, so curiosity gets the better of you, and without thinking you reach over to grab your phone. In that split second, your eyes stray from the road ahead, and tragedy strikes. Within the blink of an eye, a car farther ahead suddenly cuts into your lane in front of the car in front of you, causing the car in front of you to slam on their brakes. With no time to react, you rear-end the car with a loud crash, jolting both vehicles forward. The scene is chaotic, as shattered glass and crumpled metal fill the air. In just a matter of seconds, lives are forever changed, all due to a momentary lapse in attention caused by distracted driving.

Now picture this: You are returning from a pre-planning meeting at a family's house, and the clock is ticking as you realize you're running late for your next meeting back at the office. Feeling hungry and pressed for time, you make a split-second decision to swing by a drive-through and grab something fast to eat on the go. As you merge back into traffic with a sandwich in one hand and your eyes alternating between the road and your meal, disaster looms just ahead. In a matter of seconds, the car in front of you abruptly stops to avoid a pedestrian crossing the street, but your divided attention leaves you with no time to react. The sickening sound of screeching tires and the violent impact follow in quick succession as your vehicle collides with the one in front. Airbags deploy, glass shatters, and the reality of the situation hits hard. In the blink of an eye, a momentary lapse in focus and the desire to multitask has caused an accident, putting lives at risk.

These scenarios serve as a stark reminder of just how quickly accidents can happen when we try to juggle common distractions and driving simultaneously, underestimating the split-second decisions that can change everything. Funeral care is a unique field when it comes to driving; operating company vehicles, and often times specialty vehicles such as hearses, is typically a daily occurrence. We regularly participate in funeral processions, which involve their own set of rules for the road and driving etiquette. We also drive with the most precious of cargo, the deceased loved ones of the families we serve. When it comes to driving safety, funeral professionals frequently face distracted driving challenges thanks to technology. Whether it be distractions from taking a phone call from the deacon for your upcoming service, or plugging in GPS coordinates to get to a house for a removal, funeral professionals need to know the best ways to stay safe on the road! 

If you are an on-the-go funeral service professional, check out these safe driving tips to help keep you (and others!) safe on the road.