Coronavirus: Police reiterate the need for drivers to stay home to slow the spread of Covid-19

Published 26 March 2020

A joint statement made by the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, Chief Fire Officer and the county's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner doubles down on the message that members of the public must do their part in preventing the spread of Coronavirus by avoiding non-essential travel.

The Government has advised that only essential travel should be undertaken in a bid to battle the outbreak. The emergency services has emphasised this message with a joint statement, saying "If you do not need to be outside for an essential reason, to buy food or medicine or to exercise once a day, you must stay at home."

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There have been reports of police forces in Yorkshire introducing vehicle check points to stop cars and remind drivers that they should remain at home unless travel is absolutely essential.

Emergency services like the police, fire department and ambulance service may be overwhelmed if the public doesn't play its part. Key workers - including medical staff, care workers, delivery drivers, transport staff, postal workers, retail staff and many others - are still expected to work in order to keep the country running.

Breakdown services are still operating, with the AA, RAC and GreenFlag regularly updating the notices on their sites. Patrols are following Government-issued hygiene advice to stop the spread of Covid-19, using protective gloves and keeping vans stocked with cleaning products.

While this will be a welcome relief to key workers who need to travel, it must be stressed that this service will run most smoothly if it isn't used by members of the public who take unnecessary risks by taking trips that aren't absolutely essential.

Breakdown services have also warned customers of longer wait times than normal, as well as guidance about not coming into direct contact with their staff to avoid the spread of the virus.

Coronavirus: Advice on buying, running and owning a car during the outbreak

Comments

Maxonian on 27 March 2020

Got to use it to go to supermarket to get food bout every ten days but nowhere else.

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ANTHONY EVANS on 27 March 2020

What problems can I expect if my diesel Nissan XTrail battery goes flat through not being able to drive it. What potential issues and expense can I look forward to?

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Roger Hulme on 27 March 2020

Get a CTEK MXS 5.0 Battery charger/conditioner. I have a couple of cars which do not do much mileage - one does mainly short local runs - and it has been a great investment.

It should bring your battery back from the dead and can remain connected to your car whilst it is parked up. It will monitor the state of the battery and charge as necessary. Buy it on-line - ebay or Amazon for around £65-00 to save going to a motorist's store. See H-J reviews.

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jchinuk on 28 March 2020

The actions of the police, stopping vehicles to check where the driver is going, raises an interesting question.
If I am going to the nearest supermarket I assume there is no problem, yet if I am going to the nearest farm shop, only a few miles further, does the officer have the option of deciding I am driving too far and send me home?
I can't see any obvious extra chance of infecting/being infected, indeed the scrum at the supermarket is probably more of a danger than the relatively quiet farm shop.
The other issue is that while Tesco & co could survive the decease in trade, the local suppliers at the farm shop might well close forever.

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Lord Vader on 29 March 2020

Too many people are not adhering to the advice. This virus is going to restrict our lives far longer that it should. Short runs are going to wreck the DPF's on lots of cars.

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gavsmit on 2 April 2020

I've seen so many smashed bollards, fences, railings and even bus stops round where I live where the quieter roads have brought the nutters out to drive like they are on a rally stage! No thought is given by these idiots to the extra strain they are putting on the NHS and emergency services, as well as potentially speeding up the spread of the virus.

Unfortunately it's these selfish, stupid, arrogant imbeciles that cause governments to bring in laws and rules that restrict everyone rather than being able to trust people to have common sense and take responsibility for their actions (as sad as that is for everyone else).

Then journalists criticise those rules, or the clarity of them, when the real issue is all the idiots out there who don't posses any common sense or the intelligence to know right from wrong!

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hissingsid on 6 April 2020

I live in a rural area where the roads are eerily quiet. Even when I cross over the M5 there is very little traffic, and most of that is commercial.
My everyday car is only used for the supermarket shopping at present, a ten mile round trip which does it no harm as it is petrol. Not all of us were taken in by the dash for diesel.
My other car is a 50 year old classic and old cars, like old people, benefit from regular gentle exercise. I will drive that one next time I have to visit the pharmacy to collect my repeat prescriptions.

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