Using a Towing Service: Knowing What to Do

Two steps that funeral directors should take if their funeral hearse breaks down during a funeral

If the hearse that a funeral director has been driving breaks down whilst they are transporting a deceased person's remains to a cemetery for their funeral, these are the steps that they should follow.

They should request a second funeral hearse before calling the towing company

Before arranging for a tow truck to collect the hearse, the funeral director should have an employee from their funeral home bring a second funeral hearse to the road on which they've broken down. Only after they have made this phone call should they then contact the towing company.

The reason for this is that the funeral director must get the second hearse delivered quickly as before the broken-down vehicle can be towed, the casket in it will have to be transferred to that other hearse so that the funeral process can be resumed as soon as possible.

If the tow truck sent by the towing company arrives long before the other funeral hearse does, everyone will have to stand around waiting for the hearse's arrival so that the casket can be put into it and the broken hearse can be loaded onto the truck. This delay will not only affect those who had been travelling in the original hearse but could also impact the other funeral guests who are already at the cemetery, waiting for the burial to begin.

They should specify the hearse's length when ordering the tow truck

When ordering the tow truck, the funeral director should also specify the length of their funeral hearse as this vehicle is usually several feet longer than a typical car because it has to be long enough to store a casket.

If the funeral director merely says that they have a broken-down vehicle, without mentioning its unusual dimensions, the trailer of the tow truck sent by the towing company might turn out to be far too short. If this happens, the towing company might have to send out another truck with a much longer trailer, which could prolong this process quite a lot. This, too, could also delay the burial, which could be particularly troublesome if the religious leader who'll be speaking at it is expected to speak at another funeral later that same day as they might have to leave before the burial starts. By specifying their hearse's length at the outset, the funeral director could avoid complicating this event in this manner.

To learn more about towing a hearse, contact towing companies in your area.


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