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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Going for a drive

141 replies

Glovesick · 09/04/2020 14:44

I have seen someone got fined for going for a drive to break the boredom.

I know it's not essential travel but I don't really get why it is banned. As long as you don't get out, there is no risk of infection.

Suppose that would be difficult to police and also small risk of accidents would divert emergency services.

On the other hand, it is low risk and people's mental health is also important.

Views?

OP posts:
GlummyMcGlummerson · 09/04/2020 14:46

I don't think it's that bad but I suspect I'll be in the minority

flowerstar19 · 09/04/2020 14:52

I think it is probably that going out for a drive holds a small risk of breaking down, tyre blow outs, accidents etc, which would all involve other people and a strain on resources. Also doing it may require filling up with fuel and contact again. I think the idea is to just stay at home (obviously unless essential!) as the risk of spreading the virus from there is as minimal as possible!

BritWifeinUSA · 09/04/2020 14:52

I don’t get it either. No ban on driving here and we go out for a drive every weekend to break the monotony. We went along the coast yesterday evening to where a school of whales are currently swimming around. Wonderful sight!

I have heard people say it’s because you might have an accident and that would divert emergency services away from COVID-19 cases. In almost 30 years of driving I’ve had one accident - a minor one that did not require any medical attention. Most people are not in the habit of smashing up their cars on a regular basis. Yes, it could happen but so could so many other things. Better not cook chips in case you have a chip pan fire, better not do any DIY during the lockdown in case you fall off a ladder, better stay downstairs in case you fall up or down the stairs....

lunar1 · 09/04/2020 14:54

More chance of accidents, extra need to fill the car up, more temptation to drive to places for exercise.

What the fuck is the problem on MN, there are rules, follow them. There is no need for the desperate search for loopholes.

DuchessAnnogovia · 09/04/2020 14:54

I'd love to go out for a drive. However I'm tending to look at worst case scenarios. Such as, what if I crash, if I have covid-19 without knowing it, those who come to rescue me are at risk, if I require hospitalisation then an already overstretched NHS is at risk, what if the crash is fatal? My loved ones can't attend my funeral.

Yes, I am being a doom and gloom merchant, and yes it is relatively low risk, but it is still a risk I'd rather not take.

Original poster
Glovesick · 09/04/2020 14:59

@lunar1

Not looking for loopholes, just pondering.

I have not and will not go for a drive, but then I am lucky to have a garden and live semi rurally so can go for a nice walk

OP posts:
RoseAndRose · 09/04/2020 15:00

Because if it's OK for one person, then it's just as OK for everyone else.

And then we don't really have lockdown any more

PawPawNoodle · 09/04/2020 15:02

@lunar1
More chance of accidents, extra need to fill the car up, more temptation to drive to places for exercise.

Says who? I thought it was pretty common knowledge that you're more likely to be injured at home than out of it. You might be more severely injured in a car accident, but you're less likely to have one.

George441 · 09/04/2020 15:10

Did you tell me that you want to go to drive? in this pandemic? stay safe.

Spam88 · 09/04/2020 15:11

It's not on the list of permitted reasons to leave your home 🤷‍♀️

chockaholic72 · 09/04/2020 15:17

I'm a very confident driver but there's no way I'd go out for a drive at the moment. I'm driving twice a week to drop meals off at a very elderly relative's house five miles away. I've stopped going on the motorway link road which is quicker, because of the sheer amount of absolute fucking tools on there. Men (and they are men, of all ages, all races) flooring their cars at 100mph+. It's utterly terrifying, and I've started going the long way round because I don't want to be spending all my time socially distancing and washing my hands only to be taken out by a complete penis in a BMW who likes the look of an almost clear A627M.

hocuspocusbitch · 09/04/2020 15:18

It's because it invalidates your insurance.

YouTheCat · 09/04/2020 15:19

I saw car loads of people off out yesterday when it was sunny. More people on the roads equals more accidents/breakdowns. Why should some poor breakdown guy/paramedic have to risk his physical health for some selfish arses?

Tayt · 09/04/2020 15:22

I’ve been out for a drive.
I have massive anxiety and the only thing that calms me is getting in my car because I have to concentrate on the driving rather than any intrusive thoughts. I’m on a waiting list for the local MH team but I’ll be waiting months for it; probably even longer now because of the virus.
I go maybe once a week, not all the time, generally before I’ve been to the supermarket so if I get stopped, I can say that I’m on the way to the shop

grandmasterstitch · 09/04/2020 15:24

@hocuspocusbitch no it doesn't

milveycrohn · 09/04/2020 15:27

If you go out for a drive, there is more chance of coming into contact with other people.
Eventually, your car will need petrol, etc
It encourages others to also go out for a drive, who may not be as careful as you.
The more cars on the road, and more crowded the roads, the greater risk to an emergency vehicle taking someone to hospital.
It is also a non essential journey and is therefore breaking the law!
The more people the Gov see breaking the law, the more draconian the laws may become, until, like some other countries, you may need permission to leave your house.
My advice would be to obey the law.

cologne4711 · 09/04/2020 15:27

I've only had a couple of low speed prangs in car parks (usually the bollards at the end of a parking space that you can't see). But sod's law says that if I drive to my usual parkrun location for a "freedom parkrun" (15 mins drive away) that I will either break down or have a prang. It's not worth the risk for me. I can exercise from home easily.

However, I don't judge those who do drive because they can't exercise from home easily or safely.

ErrolTheDragon · 09/04/2020 15:30

The law is we're supposed to stay at home unless we have a 'reasonable excuse' to be out.

Food shopping is one example, exercise is another. 'Being bored' isn't.

britnay · 09/04/2020 15:32

Well the Yorkshire Air Ambulance is not currently operating, so if anyone had a bad accident in the area then they would have to travel by road ambulance to their nearest hospital (which might not be the best one for their injuries) or wait for an air ambulance from another county.
Just because you might be a good driver going for a sedate drive doesn't mean that the other road users are.
Would you want to risk it?

wonderstuff · 09/04/2020 15:37

Huge increase in people speeding apparently. Quiet roads aren't necessarily safer. Driving is probably the highest risk activity most people regularly participate in. Its just not necessary. This isn't going to be forever, but I think its helpful if the only people on the road are essential.

AmelieTaylor · 09/04/2020 15:40

Not to mention leaving the roads clear for emergency services.

GlummyMcGlummerson · 09/04/2020 15:45

It's because it invalidates your insuranc

What a load of crap.

Where do people get this stuff from?!

hocuspocusbitch · 09/04/2020 15:46

@grand

Ahh sorry, I really thought it would..... if you drive while you've been advised to stay home and have an accident, I would have thought that would invalidate it.

ErrolTheDragon · 09/04/2020 15:47

I don’t get it either. No ban on driving here and we go out for a drive every weekend to break the monotony

The USA doesn't have a network of public footpaths such as exists in the UK. Obviously it varies according to where exactly you are but when I lived in Pennsylvania for a couple of years it was impossible to walk or cycle from home. We had to drive quite a long way to a state park (or do laps of the mall).

There are some places in the U.K. on fast roads with no pavements where it's necessary (and allowed) to drive for a few minutes to access a footpath, but very few where you'd have to drive far.

hocuspocusbitch · 09/04/2020 15:48

See below glummy. Perfectly reasonable to think that