Motorcade facts for kids
A motorcade (or convoy, carcade, autocade) is a number of vehicles driving in the same direction on official business.
Uses of motorcades
VIPs
Motorcades can be used to transport a very important person (VIP), usually a political figure. Such a motorcade is usually accompanied by police cars and other protection. This is to make sure the people in the motorcade are safe. For instance, motorcades for presidents often have four to six armoured cars, with police motorcycles and cars going in front and behind.
Depending on the size of the motorcade and who it is carrying, streets may be completely blocked off so no-one else can use them. This is common for the security of heads of state or government.
Protests and demonstrations
Motorcades can be used as protests and demonstrations. A large, organised, group of vehicles will travel a busy route at very slow speed. They do this to deliberately cause traffic disruption. This is often in relation to protest groups that have access to many large vehicles, such as truckers and farmers.
Funerals
A funeral cortege is a group of mourners following a hearse in a motorcade of cars.
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Motorcade for the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in Koblenz, Germany, 1965
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Presidential motorcade following the inauguration of United States President George W. Bush, January 20, 2001
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Funeral motorcade for former United States President Ronald Reagan in Simi Valley, California, 2004
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Funeral motorcade of Russian Patriarch Alexy II
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The motorcade for the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, on route to 17 Wing CFB Winnipeg, July 3, 2010
Images for kids
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Calvin Coolidge (in top hat) arrives to dedicate a park in Hammond, Indiana, 1927
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Franklin D. Roosevelt in New Orleans, 1937
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Harry S. Truman leaves Boca Chica Field in Key West, Florida, with Cecil C. Adell (center), and William D. Leahy, retired Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, 1951
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Dwight D. Eisenhower in Kabul, 1959
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John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy at Blair House, 1961
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Richard Nixon in Berlin, 1969
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Following Gerald Ford and Leonid Brezhnev on a tour of Vladivostok, 1974. Photo by David Hume Kennerly.
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Jimmy Carter leaving Three Mile Island, 1979
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George W. Bush in Ada, Michigan, 2008
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Barack Obama in Baghdad, 2009
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Motorcade for the Australian Governor General, Prime Minister and Chief of the Defence Force in Canberra, 2009
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Brazilian presidential motorcade at the inauguration of Dilma Rousseff in Brasília, 2011
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South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s motorcade leaving Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., 2010
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Motorcade of South Korean President Park Geun-hye during her inauguration in Seoul, 2013
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Nicolae Ceaușescu's motorcade in Soviet Moldova, 1976
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