Love them or loathe them, face coverings have become an essential item during this last year of Covid restrictions. Who could have known that a simple face covering was to become as ubiquitous as our mobile phone or house keys every time we leave our home? As soon as we venture outside, a face covering must be worn to protect ourselves and others from this Covid virus that has turned our society on its head. We live in extraordinary times.
How much longer do we need to continue wearing a face covering depends on Government restrictions and this depends on how we control the spread of Covid within our community. The world of science has thankfully stepped in to provide us with effective vaccines giving us hope and more importantly immunity from this horrid illness. As I write this, children are back at school and the opening up of non essential shops is around the corner. April 12th cannot come round quick enough as this is the date that gives our industry the green light to resume with our driving lessons.
Social distancing in a car
In the meantime, until vaccines have been rolled out to all adults, Government restrictions will still apply, so let’s not discard our face coverings just yet. We all have a responsibility to mitigate and control the risk of infection and possible mutations. We continue to socially distance, keeping 2 metres apart from those outside our social bubble. Where social distancing is impossible such as in a car, we are encouraged to wear a face covering and this is what we shall continue until told otherwise. In addition we will continue with the good practices we have adopted to keep both instructor and student safe. Hands washed with antibiotic hand wash and car control points wiped down clean after and before every single lesson.
We will also insist that our students continue wearing their face covering, unless of course the student has a valid exemption. The safety of the student and the instructor still remains paramount until further guidance is to stand down is given.
How to wear a face covering
But, before we leave the topic of face coverings there are a number of suggestions which will make the wearing of them a little more tolerable. Most importantly, get a face covering that fits. You’ll be surprised how much of the discomfort and constant adjusting could be avoided if the covering covers the face comfortably.
In your practical test, the examiner will insist that the covering covers your mouth and nose throughout the duration of the test. If it doesn’t not, the examiner will give you the opportunity to readjust your covering. If the examiner feels that the covering is not fit for purpose or the continual adjusting of the covering makes your driving unsafe, they can terminate the test early. It makes sense, therefore, to make sure you have a face covering that you are comfortable with.
And finally, lets not forget the purpose of the face covering. The face covering shields us from ingesting the tiny droplets of Coronavirus that maybe airborne. They also stop you from touching your mouth and nose if your hands have picked up the virus from contaminated surfaces. It’s essential, therefore, that we continually change and wash our face coverings in hot water as we would our socks! We should all have several face coverings that fit comfortably and are clean for every new situation. If we chose to use disposable face coverings then lets make sure that we dispose of them safely and wear a new one at every lesson.
We live in a new post pandemic reality. Learning to drive with a face covering is a small sacrifice if it keeps ourselves and our families safe.
If you have any questions about your safety whilst driving with Stop Stalling, then please visit our Safety Notice page. Or, please contact Franco who will be happy to help.