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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

'Stay local to exercise' is rubbish

655 replies

ThePants999 · 27/03/2020 18:56

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52062209

Taking public transport to start your exercise is obviously counterproductive.

Driving to somewhere where loads of other people are also going to exercise is not exactly ideal.

Driving to somewhere in the middle of nowhere to go for a walk? Not only is that perfectly safe, I'm going to assert that it's BETTER than walking from your house, especially if you live in a built-up area.

AIBU? And if I'm being U - why? How am I endangering anyone by going out to the countryside by car instead of walking round my town?

OP posts:

ShootsFruitAndLeaves · 27/03/2020 20:52

Exercise is allowed and essential, for mental and physical health, but travelling to get it is not.

People can exercise at home. It's not essential. People in prison don't get to go out. It's not essential.

However you can leave home to exercise because it's considered, by law, reasonable. There is no law against travelling to exercise - if you were to drive to the local mountain bike trail you wouldn't be breaking the law, because the reason for leaving home would be for exercise, which is allowed. It might be irresponsible to do so, but it's quite lawful.

It is essential to distinguish that which is unethical or unreasonable from that which is illegal from that which is neither but busybodies want to say it is (driving to a quiet woodland nearby, walking your dog twice,a day, all the rest of the rubbish idiots are coming out with).

Teateaandmoretea · 27/03/2020 20:53

should I obey the rules or disregard them?" This thread is "are the rules GOOD rules?" If you post to say, effectively, "the rules are the rules", you are wasting everyone's time

So what are you doing then? Surely the thread is about whether it's reasonable to drive a short distance for exercise within the rules? Or are you planning a trip to the lakes in which case yabu.

In the short term we have to accept the rules while the scientists work out what to do. The keyboard warriors are not well informed enough to determine the rules should be different. So wasting time is a strange accusation to make 🙄. In any case we all have plenty of tome to waste 🤷🏻‍♀️

Miljea · 27/03/2020 20:54

If there's one thing this whole Corona Virus thing has taught me it's that people have No Grasp of Risk, let alone virology.

I sort of get the 'prescriptiveness' of the roolz': so many of us appear to be too stupid to use common sense.

'Ooh! People are touching gates!'

ShootsFruitAndLeaves · 27/03/2020 20:54

and you reckon that was someone local?

if a BBQ causes a fire, you think the proximate cause is driving, not the idiot having a BBQ? ok then.....

GinnyStrupac · 27/03/2020 20:54

Keep your knickers on, Pants. I see you are ignoring and not responding to valid reasons given though, and there have been plenty. I refer you to my own about our local firefighters, for one.

Vaginandtonic · 27/03/2020 20:55

Many of the replies are not rooted in reason. They have at their heart an irrational feeling that we need to "clamp down".

This. People are taking leave of plain common sense.

Also, lol at the idea that you will be exposed to high viral load from a few people touching a gate on your farm (which you can easily clean before you touch it yourself anyway).

allthegoodusernameshavegone · 27/03/2020 20:57

I can’t be bothered to read through 9 pages, but,..... I say, drive to where ever you want, because you’re special, walk in a remote park or public areas because everyone else stayed away just for you to enjoy, do what you want for you are the chosen one. Sod the rest of us, we will pick up
After you. You are the entitled, but you will be reliant on the ones you disregarded

Teateaandmoretea · 27/03/2020 20:58

which you can easily clean before you touch it yourself anyway

Or just use your sleeve/ elbow/ foot. I've clearly been affected by mumsnet more than I like to admit 🤭

bathwithlegs · 27/03/2020 20:58

I thought it was more the idea that if your car broke down you'd be a risk to others, if you have a car accident you're unnecessarily causing risks to others.

FWIW I live in an 'isolated' beauty spot that you'd have to drive to if you didn't live here.
I can tell you now it's no longer isolated. We have a gate to our property. I've never had trespassers before. Recently there's been an influx of people that includes:
A group with 5 dc trying to open our gates, all with bare hands that then wiping their noses so I can assume they had runny noses. Not succeeding only because they were too stupid to figure out how the unlocked gate worked.
A man with a drone flying over my property taking pictures until I went outside to ruin the photos
A lady grabbing the horses head to take a selfie. Clearly not from round here as casually prancing around the backside of a horse is not what people from isolated areas tend to do unless you want a horseshoe in your face!

I think the thing is it's like all the rules, if one person slacks the whole country ends up worse off. Just walk around your area and when lockdowns over travel wherever you want to.

HalloumiGus · 27/03/2020 20:59

Ireland have just said that people have to exercise within 2kms of their house. As someone living in a tourist area I hope the same will be brought in in Britain.

bathwithlegs · 27/03/2020 21:02

@Vaginandtonic I'm elderly and my gate is 8 ft long. Not that easy to clean after several family's think it's ok to wipe themselves along it each day.

Vaginandtonic · 27/03/2020 21:02

Ireland have just said that people have to exercise within 2kms of their house. As someone living in a tourist area I hope the same will be brought in in Britain.

For a lot of people in Ireland, a 2km radius of their house would look very different to a 2km radius of the average British person's home.

LaurieMarlow · 27/03/2020 21:03

I thought it was more the idea that if your car broke down you'd be a risk to others, if you have a car accident you're unnecessarily causing risks to others

This is not a concern with regards to anything else. Shopping for example. There’s no expectation that we shop only locally and in foot to avoid accidents.

Equally, no suggestion that we abstain from behaviour at home that might cause accidents (DIY or similar) and put pressure on the health service.

Meaniebobeanie · 27/03/2020 21:03

My family and I were stopped by the police today on our 1 daily walk and asked if we are local (which we were) 10mins walk away from our house. He said that because they are checking if we had driven to this spot (we live right by a walking area) so they were checking and he said people have been coming around 40 mins drive away so people are still going in days out etc. I guess exceerise local is because they are trying to prevent people from being out most of the day etc

junecat · 27/03/2020 21:03

Sadly the idiots out there have ruined it for everyone else. I live in the Peak District and it has been insane this week. I have never seen so many people ever. Not even on sunny bank holidays. We have groups of people picnicking, playing rounders, taking down the chain across our closed pub drive to sit on the decking and eat and drink their own food and alcohol regardless that this is the home of the landlords, numerous cases of sheep worrying and attacks leading to aborted lambs and dead pregnant ewes, damaged dry stone walls due to off road motorbikes and so many cars parked on the lanes that the oil tanker deliveries have not been able to get through so lots of elderly people, and others, not able to heat water and their homes when this sunny spell is over.

Meaniebobeanie · 27/03/2020 21:04

*excercise

Teateaandmoretea · 27/03/2020 21:06

Ireland have just said that people have to exercise within 2kms of their house. As someone living in a tourist area I hope the same will be brought in in Britain.

I don't, that would make cycling impossible as outside exercise.

I suspect you'd like to get the army in too 😳

FrogBreaths · 27/03/2020 21:07

Its also about the economy, the virus is costing £350 billion, as the Met said, its not a holiday, you have to do your bit. People do not understand grey areas - they see you in a field, they see you in your car, they think they can have a party. People are always optimists when they don't carry the risk.

Teateaandmoretea · 27/03/2020 21:07

@junecat I think some areas have had proper problems, the Peak District being one.

EmeraldShamrock · 27/03/2020 21:08

It is unfortunate many have the same idea as you, as mentioned many times it uses resources.
I think they'll eventually bring in fines for going more than 500m from your home, other than for essentials food/medication.
The death toll will tell.

Bouncebacker · 27/03/2020 21:08

It’s the driving thing that gets me - I live quite centrally in a city, I can drive less than four miles to a beach - I did this early in the morning on Monday and Wednesday, with DCs and their bikes, and I ran. We were out of the car for 40 mins - out of the house for an hour. There were dog walkers and a few other families, very easy to avoid as there is masses of space. Now if I can’t use the car, I could walk to the same place which would take about an hour either way so I’d be out of the house for twice as long, and if I walked I’d be closer to loads more people as all the foot paths in the city are v busy. I won’t do that as it would be two far for the DCs and I’d be out too long, so the only option is crowded streets or busy park....

SmallChickBilly · 27/03/2020 21:08

I accept there is the risk of a car accident, and that is something I obviously don’t want to happen, but I also have to drive to get to a supermarket, so that risk is a part of my weekly life no matter what I do.

But the risk associated with driving to the supermarket is justifiable by the need for food, and is presumably something you only do once a week. Doing it every day to walk your dog increases that risk by however many times you do it.

For me, the single fact is that we know that going out and encountering others increases the risks. Whether that is only by a millionth of a percent or more doesn't really matter - there are enough people in the country that everyone doing just one of those things increases the risks significantly.

If someone told me that staying at home would keep me safe but that by leaving there was a one in a million chance that someone would die, I would stay at home despite the apparently minuscule odds. Because in a country of 66 million people, one-in-a-million means 66 times!

EmeraldShamrock · 27/03/2020 21:09

Ireland have just said that people have to exercise within 2kms of their house. As someone living in a tourist area I hope the same will be brought in in Britain They had to as every idiot was taking a drive to a remote spot, not so remote now the pubs are closed.

Stronger76 · 27/03/2020 21:09

Firstly, I haven't RTFT.

I'm on page 2 and already want to scream HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE BEFORE PEOPLE REALISE THE RULES APPLY TO THEM TOO? 2000? 5000? 10000?

Stay home. Exercise locally. Get up early or go out late to avoid other folk. Protect yourselves, protect others, protect my friends and family who work across 5 hospitals in England.

Teateaandmoretea · 27/03/2020 21:10

The death toll will go up regardless of people staying 500 metres from home, which would be utterly horrendous.

I think talk like this makes it worse people think 'grab freedom while I can'.

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