To ask what 'essential journey' means to you?

[Iamsparklyknickers]

With all the recent travel advice in my area basically boiling down to "if you don't have to travel then don't", I'm wondering how people translate that?

To me it means essential service staff like police, medical staff etc, people who need medical attention, people looking after elderly or sick relatives, people who can travel a short distance to provide work cover, people needing medical attention and maybe I could stretch to transport of essential foods/petrol.

I appreciate that I can lean towards over reaction, but it appears dp and I have very different ideas of 'essential' journeys! I've also noticed people grumbling about employers basically threatening them to get into work regardless. Is there some universal criteria in existence to find out who's in the right?

[Sokmonsta]

Essential journeys are urgent gp visit (ie anything that rely can't wait), food shopping when I've nothing left to make the next meal and dh getting to work. Although he has to be there, and usually leaves very early in bad snow, work kindly say get here safely. So if it takes longer than his shift start time, he doesn't get penalised. But also means he can be late home as they do a one in, on rout based on who had furthest to travel

[elliejjtiny]

We don't have a lot of snow here (somerset) but dh works in a rural area so he stayed home from work yesterday and we kept the boys off school as DS2 is a wheelchair user (wheelchair struggles with big cracks in the pavement nevermind snow!) and we would be relying on buses. Snow has stopped falling and the roads are clear so DH and DS1 have gone to tesco. They have got blankets, snacks and a fully charged mobile just in case.

[Iamsparklyknickers]

stayincognito I'm sorry to read about your niece. Hope it all went well yesterday.

So do supermarket/ shop workers have 'essential' jobs then? I can see the logic that people need supplies, but then I'm not entirely comfortable with a group of people who are traditionally not particularly well paid risking travelling if the official advice is not to. I wouldn't be pleased to be stranded at work in a supermarket - although at least there's food!

[manicinsomniac]

To me it means anything that would annoy or inconvenience me or others if I didn't go.

So yesterday I walked to work because I can and it was easier. But this weekend I will drive to the supermarket and church because I need to and to the gym and the cinema because I want to.

[mademred]

After the large snowfall yesterday, we ventured about half a mile up the rd to our nearest asda, and we got out because we have a 4x4, and did find it a bit slippy.our neighbours, who have a car, asked if we could get them a few bits ,so we said yes, no problem as we could get out of our rd.when we got back, about 45mins later , the neighbours all piled into their car to go tobbagoning!!! And they were going to the next town with an awful treacherous rd in even in good weather.had they skidded on ice and ended up in a ditch they would be putting a strain on the emergency services all because her kids like the great outdoors!

[degutastic]

Other essential journeys imho include people with animals dependent on them - e.g. farm workers (fortunately usually live on site!), livery staff, horse owners who don't keep the beasts at home / somewhere with staff, etc...

Toboganning is not essential though

[HecateWhoopass]

Actually, I think really it's risk assessment, isn't it.

How important is this and what are the risks of doing it and is the risk worth taking.

So going for a pint of milk if the risk is getting stuck in a 10ft drift and dying of hypothermia probably isn't worth it

and THAT'S where the problem is.

People risk assess differently. my essential journey based on my assessment of the conditions and my idea of how essential the thing is will not be the same as your essential journey based on your assessment of the conditions and your idea of how essential the thing is or her essential journey based on her assessment of the conditions and her idea of how essential the thing. So you get some people going out in a blizzard for a loaf of bread and some people refusing to go to work because it snowed for 60 seconds yesterday.

So you're never going to get anything that's consistent. because people aren't.

[BeanJuice]

I generally think going to work (for anyone) counts as essential, unless the weather is really is appalling.