As we near the end of year many families will be heading toward holiday destinations for their annual holiday. The difference is that this time they will need to contend with the challenges that COVID-19 presents while travelling as we ride the second wave of the pandemic.
The managing director of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, provides some tips for travelling as safely as possible.
- Keep hand sanitiser in the car and ensure you sanitise your hands before you leave the car at rest stops and upon your return
- Additionally, use every opportunity to wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water
- Sanitise the car regularly throughout the trip. The image indicates areas that need to cleaned with an alcohol-based disinfectant including the door, door handles, dashboard, steering wheel, gearstick, handbrake, radio, arm rests and the seat.
- Alcohol-based disinfectants will not damage the car as long as you do not soak the surfaces and do not use it on infotainment systems.
- Do not forget areas that may not immediately jump to mind as places you or someone else may have touched such as the levers controlling items like indicators, the rear-view mirror, the levers that move the seats and even fuel cards.
- Remember to sanitise exterior of the vehicle as well, including door handles, door frames and the boot.
- Keep a plastic bag that you can place items like the cloth you use to sanitise the vehicle in to remove and clean at the end of the day.
- Be sure that everyone in the car has a face mask handy that can be worn in a roadblock or at rest stops.
- If you will be making use of public transport, ensure that windows are open and that you wear your face mask throughout the trip.
- Where possible, pack healthy snacks that can be enjoyed in the car or at open air rest areas as opposed to eating at crowded rest stop restaurants.
As many people will be travelling toward their holiday destinations as the second wave emerges in South Africa, drivers should not forget the COVID-19 protocols instituted earlier this year. “In order to keep your family safe and reduce the strain on the public healthcare system, follow these tips as you spend time on the road this festive season,” says Herbert.
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