'Stay local to exercise' is rubbish

[ThePants999]

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?

I hate the human race sometimes. It doesn't apply to me because blah blah blah. Selfish. There are other things to think about apart from ourselves.

For goodness sake follow advice from the Cabinet Office

What advice 408? You've been asked repeatedly to link to it, and haven't. Probably because it doesn't exist.

I think as long as you find a quiet area away from houses you should be OK. Although I do get it, that perhaps you shouldn't be driving due to accidents or needing to fill up with fuel! I think last weekend everyone was flocking to the quiet villages of the peak district, everyone had the same idea... And the people in the villages are obviously worried about the virus spreading around their areas, which they don't want! Putting them at a higher risk. So I can see the arguement from both sides.

This is from an article in the Guardian yesterday:

‘Police said members of the public should not be driving anywhere to walk their dogs or exercise. However, the Guardian checked with the Cabinet Office, which is overseeing restrictions on movement, and a spokeswoman confirmed that the guidelines did not prohibit driving somewhere for exercise or dog walking.’

We’re getting mixed messages which is why there is so much angst over this issue.

The would-be fascists are showing their true colours over corona.

It's not up to the police to tell what people to do. The government does that. The police's job is to enforce the government's laws, not make them up.

This is what police in the Lake District said (from Guardian)-

On Friday, Cumbria police declared the Lake District closed in an attempt to deter crowds.

“Thinking of coming to the #Lakedistrict over the weekend? Don’t, it’s CLOSED. Daily exercise shouldn’t include travelling to a different area by car. Start your walk, cycle or run from your home in your local area,” the force tweeted.

Where i live is very heavily populated and the streets are rammed with people jogging, cycling, walking dogs. It's very hard to social distance effectively.

I can drive for 10-15 minutes and be in almost total isolation.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what's the better option.

This is from an article in the Guardian yesterday

Which was fine yesterday. But new official advice was published today - www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-guidance-on-access-to-green-spaces

This is a fast moving situation and people have an obligation to be aware of, and comply with, advice as it is issued.

Ultimately it doesn't matter what anyone thinks - driving somewhere to walk etc is NOT prohibited.
Yes there are arguments for and against.
But ultimately it is not against the rules.
(PP wishing for colder weather - surely it makes more sense to wish for heat as it may help us get rid of this virus...)

If you drive somewhere and the car park is rammed and you park up anyway and get out and walk with crowds of people, you are stupid.

If you drive somewhere (let's say Curbar Edge in the Peak District) and there are only a few cars there and you get out and there is no one else around and you get out and go for a walk in isolation, you are not stupid.

I haven't RTFT.

But people need to bloody well stay in their local area. You don't have a right to travel to a nice park or woodland or beach to do your exercise. If you live in an urban area then you'll have to make do with walking around the streets.

I'm in rural Cumbria - we're a hotspot for Covid19 and have the second highest incident rate outside of London, and people are STILL trying to come up here on holiday or for weekend breaks while the kids are off school. Police are now having to put road blocks in place and are turning people around at the border if they don't have a legitimate reason for travel.

STAY HOME. It's a few weeks out of your life. Just bloody do it.

No where in this country is 'in the middle of nowhere'. Everywhere is someone else's home and someone else's land. Viruses don't travel by themselves. They are transported by people. The full lock down is only for 3 weeks. Just do it. It really isn't that hard.

I think they are deliberately a bit vague on "close to home" because there are different situations. Driving 5 minutes up the road to your local park or open space is one thing. Driving two hours to go scrambling in a National park is quite another. Obviously people with disabilities should have some flexibility and there will be space for this if people are considerate of others and use their common sense.

Interesting re updated guidance - so stay local where possible... confirming you can still drive somewhere if sensible. If course it leaves room for interpretation but for now we'll have to work with that.

This is a fast moving situation and people have an obligation to be aware of, and comply with, advice as it is issued.

People only have an obligation to comply with the law.

Advice is just that. It is not appropriate for the police to make out that that advice is law.

If people can't comply with advice than the law can be changed again.

Following on from my comment about the 'quiet' country lane my Dad lives on being chocka block with people, i had to drive about 2 miles an hour due to the amount of walkers & cyclists, 2 or 3 abreast on both sides of the road.
It's a good job i wasnt an emergency vehicle en route to an emergency isnt it.

I'm angry about this because I live in a flat, and I know that because people can't follow guidelines about exercise locally, we'll end up with even tougher restrictions.

If its busy when you go out, go out at a different time. Ive just been out for my daily walk and its very quiet outside. It was positively bustling at 5pm outside my window.

If you are lucky enough to have a garden, do your exercise there!

YABU.
It is reasonable to get exercise every single day including exercising your pets.
It is not reasonable to drive miles to some countryside / beauty spot you know of where most likely you know others will be because inevitably you will just come into close contact with them.
Isolation is hard but here we are (hopefully only for the meantime)

No where in this country is 'in the middle of nowhere'. Everywhere is someone else's home and someone else's land. Viruses don't travel by themselves. They are transported by people. The full lock down is only for 3 weeks. Just do it. It really isn't that hard.

FFS the government guidance is that people can go out to exercise. Not that hard to comprehend is it?

One other reason I’ve heard is because if you are infected and just don’t realise it you could end up spreading it into another location, not sure if it’s true or not though!

If its busy when you go out, go out at a different time. Ive just been out for my daily walk and its very quiet outside. It was positively bustling at 5pm outside my window

because it's dark.

people don't want to walk in the dark.

It's because you increase risk of having an accident and stretching resources if you need hospital care of risk someone else if you need recovery services.
Last point is true if you breakdown.

OP, don't bother, all reason left the building approximately seven days ago

I interpret 'close to home' as walking from the house.

It is about the inevitable risk of the virus passing simply by people moving: from petrol pumps, from gates and stiles touched, maybe public lavatories. Unless you have a large and vigorous dog that would suffer without being able to run around, it is perfectly possible to get exercise even in an urban area simply by choosing your time. I've just been out for 20 mins, streets deserted, saw one person at a distance. The air was clearer and less difficult to breathe than I have ever known it.