Police guidelines for officers on what is a reasonable excuse - worth reading

[chomalungma]

www.college.police.uk/What-we-do/COVID-19/Documents/What-constitutes-a-reasonable-excuse.pdf

Interesting reading. Especially with regards to driving for exercise, what exercise is, going shopping and the allottments.

It was bonkers to interpret the law as meaning you cannot take a short, safe drive to find somewere more open and secluded to exercise in isolation

Agree but the police have repeatedly claimed on social media that you are not allowed to drive to exercise. And ZeroSumTrap's experience is fucking sinister. @ZeroSumTrap, if you use Twitter, contact Dave Allen Green link. He is a barrister who has advised a lot of people about the police's unreasonable actions re lockdown.

Why do people, including the police it seems, think that restrictions are in place to prevent accidents??!! No! They are purely to prevent the spread of Coronavirus! Or else we would have bans on DIY, BBQs, cooking, climbing up to the loft, eating grapes, trampolines, drinking hot drinks, having sex, paddling pools...

Can I ask where you found these guidelines please

I wish the police and everyone else would fuck off with harassing people for sitting down, when they are minding the 2m distance

Elderly and disabled people especially can need a rest and they don't endanger anyone

• easier to avoid someone stationary than the cyclists and runners tbh

Fortunately, I live by the Rhine and the police here ignore sunbathers and picnickers, who keep good distancing
Vitamin D is good for the immune system, so let us soak up some sun after the long winter

Ffs has it ever really been that difficult?? Use your common sense!!! If somewhere is crowded then go somewhere else.

It's pissing me off that members of the public and the police for that matter are taking their interpretation as the law.

Stay away from other people. That is what we need to do. That doesn't mean you need to be cooped up in your living room!

Yes! Finally some common sense in my old homeland! We have been doing these things here (driving to somewhere for exercise such as a beach or forest), buying non-essential items whilst doing the grocery shop, leaving the house multiple times a day here and - shock! Horror! We haven’t all dropped dead.

Can I ask where you found these guidelines please

From the police.

These are great, thank you for sharing. I've been struggling around the roads with two toddlers when I could have continued driving a short distance onto deserted moors where I barely see a soul.

Why on earth didn't the government plaster these around to start with????

Re moving in together. It really should be for the duration of the lockdown or not at all otherwise its risking the spread of CV.. There are loads of ways to communicate with other people.

The police have no authority to make rules though, they don’t form any part of the legislative process.

It’s so worrying how many people don’t understand this and accept The opinion of the police as being the final word on the matter.

This ‘guidance’ goes very far beyond what was enacted, you are not required to follow these ‘guidelines’

Being sensible I think this is terrible and totally irresponsible advice.

So do I. Theoretically you can drive for 2 hours, walk/ hike for 8, stopping for pic-nics, and drive 2 hours back.

What happened to an hour's outdoor exercise/day?

What happened to an hour's outdoor exercise/day?

That was never a law/guideline.

*Elderly and disabled people especially can need a rest and they don't endanger anyone

• easier to avoid someone stationary than the cyclists and runners tbh

Fortunately, I live by the Rhine and the police here ignore sunbathers and picnickers, who keep good distancing*

The police response in Australia has been variable but perfectly pleasant where I live. There is a small lake near where I live that people are driving to and swimming in - great for those kids (and adults) who normally swim with a club. There always seem to be police officers there. “The rules” seem to be : swimming is fine, being in the water and splashing or just digging a hole is fine but sitting and watching your children isn’t, even if you are socially distancing. Walking or running or scooting or cycling around the lake is fine. There are lots of parents walking up and down but even then those sitting down are approached nicely by police and not fined if they do as they’re told.

There was a man swimming today who looked in his 80s, quite a good swimmer but clearly had problems with walking and quite swollen joints. He looked comfortable in the water and in pain when he got out and was walking. He got out slowly, sat down for a while, stretched everything in the sun and dressed slowly and wasn’t asked to move on at all, which I thought was respectful. Much better for him to be moving than not.

If you are safe in your car and hike away from others, is this really wrong? I think prolonged driving isn’t in the spirit of what we are doing now and I don’t support driving for over an hour but people can be safe by travelling to open areas away from others. Hopefully it won’t be in large numbers!

Stopping for picnics isn’t really allowed as far as I can see. I think the guidelines don’t allow “working” in parks either. No sitting on benches with the lap top.

That sounds like useful guidance and I hope common sense will apply, to balance health (especially mental health) with the situation we're in.

We're ten mins from the moors and we're aware that mountain rescue are mostly made up of paramedics and other essential services, and they really don't need to be dealing with accidents on the moors at the moment. That first weekend there were so many people out, especially climbers, it just got silly but if we're sensible we can still get out just enough and not strain vital resources. My DH has been getting down being confined (walking on the moors is his release) but in our case we can reasonably walk from our house at the moment, but we'll keep the guidelines in mind.

For those of you struggling with your mental health, look after yourselves

So do I. Theoretically you can drive for 2 hours, walk/ hike for 8, stopping for pic-nics, and drive 2 hours back.

What do you think is wrong with this?

Thanks for posting this, if only if had been made this clear at the beginning to stop people frothing at the mouth at other people's reasonable behaviour.

@FudgeBrownie2019 unbelievable, 'Pete' what a knob!!

Brilliant, OP, common sense prevails!!!

Theoretically you can drive for 2 hours, walk/ hike for 8, stopping for pic-nics, and drive 2 hours back

Well no you can't really as you're supposed to stay local and the driving bit is really only to overcome difficulties like roads without footpaths, finding a quieter area or one that is more appropriate for someone with mobility problems.

Given the above, you'd probably have a hard time defending a drive of more than about 30-40 minutes, no matter how long your walk is. I could be in the Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors, Southern Pennines or Peak District within an hour or so, but I'm not going to any of those because I know it is against the rules and am taking walks locally.

This is great in theory op, but police near us (southeast) are not following these guidelines.

My brother lives on a crowded housing estate and the other day he drove for approximately 15 minutes to the edge of the South Downs to have a long walk. Came back to find a note from the police on his car warning him not to do that (he was in a small car park only really used by walkers). Every car there had a note on it. He hasn't felt able to walk there again.

I would call the police and ask them to clarify I think if they left a note on my car in those circumstances.

If people find that the police are not following their own guidelines then they should politely challenge them and explain why you think you are in the right. Have a printout or the document saved on your phone. In most cases that should mean that no further action is taken. There is also the right to appeal if a fine is issued.

Was the South Downs/15 minute drive example before these new guidelines came out - I think this was only published on Tuesday or Wednesday this week.

I would be tempted to print those guidelines out and leave them visible in the car while it is parked. I know not everyone has a printer though.

It’s important to remember that this is what is lawful, it doesn’t mean that you have to do it. If you NEED to do something listed then it’s ok to do so, but if you can cope without it then you should imo

I would call the police and ask them to clarify I think if they left a note on my car in those circumstances.

As would I, and ask what legal basis they think they have for their actions.