Covid-19

Covid-19 has dominated this years headlines and unless you’ve been asleep for most of it you will have noticed that it has changed all of our lives significantly. 

In this blog we’ll take a closer look at how it has affected our industry and what it might mean going forward…

What we’ve been doing

On the 23rd March we closed our doors, along with most of the country we went into lockdown and life as we knew it changed. We stopped all of our driving lessons, put the brakes on our trailer and instructor training and also paused our Pre-17 Driving Experiences.

One of our Fleet clients managed to provide us with some courier work supplying utility vehicles to key workers across the country which kept us busy for a short period. We ran this operation for a couple of weeks whilst adhering to social distancing guidelines and thoroughly enjoyed driving around the country with quieter roads.

We were fortunate that we were furloughed for the majority and managed to stay afloat for the period of lockdown. We stayed in touch with pupils providing regular updates and working in the background on how we might reopen when we were given the green light. Thankfully we are able to get going again.

Fuel prices

Fuel prices took a massive fall, with most of the population stuck at home, travel restricted and only limited outdoor exercise allowed the forecourts fell silent. For the first time in over 15 years we saw the price of petrol drop to nearly £1 a litre, unfortunately now that Covid restrictions are being lifted the prices are back on the rise again.

Commute times

As most of us were working at home or furloughed the roads were almost empty and the volume of traffic dropped . There was no morning or evening rush hour, you could get into town within minutes and you didn’t get stuck at junctions.

Environment

There has been a large reduction in coal and oil burning over the crisis which has helped to produce better air quality and improvements on the environment.

In total, demand for electricity across the continent is down by one-tenth (10%) due to measures taken to combat Covid-19, the biggest drop in demand since the Second World War.

Car sharing

If you normally share a vehicle with people from other households or support bubbles for essential journeys, we recommend you find a different way to travel so that you can maintain social distancing. For example, consider walking, cycling or using your own vehicle if you can.

If you do have to travel with people outside your household or support bubble try to:

• share the transport with the same people each time
• keep to small groups of people at any one time
• open windows for ventilation
• travel side by side or behind other people, rather than facing them, where seating arrangements allow
• face away from each other
• consider seating arrangements to maximise distance between people in the vehicle
• clean your car between journeys using standard cleaning products – make sure you clean door handles and other areas that people may touch
• ask the driver and passengers to wear a face covering

On your journey

Expect more pedestrians and cyclists, especially at peak times of day. Where possible, allow other road users to maintain social distancing. For example, give cyclists space at traffic lights.

Limit the time you spend at garages, petrol stations and motorway services. Try to keep your distance from other people and if possible pay by contactless.

Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds or sanitise your hands often, and always when exiting or re-entering your vehicle.

Completing your journey

When finishing your journey wash your hands for at least 20 seconds or sanitise your hands as soon as possible

For further guidance on all forms of transports in relation to Covid-19 visit the government pages here.