This Fall might just be the strangest return to school our children have ever been a part of, and the very thought of children carpooling to campus registers red flags immediately. But with the proper attitude and preparedness, could there be a safe way to carpool in the midst of a pandemic? At Liberty Buick GMC, we think so, and we have a few tips to follow in order to keep you and your young ones safe as they travel back to school.
Whether your child is learning virtually or in-person, chances are you will be traveling more than you did over summer. And though carpooling is a great way to travel, there are specific precautions to be taken.
The first step to a safe carpool is making sure everyone is aware of the situation we are in, and all are on board to work together to keep everyone safe. Begin by contacting the other passengers and drivers who will be in the carpool. There is no need to panic, but you do need to be sure everyone in the car will be wearing a mask, and there will be enough room so that each person can sit without leaning into or resting on another passenger.
It’s also a good idea to have everyone involved agree to
take temperatures each day before entering the vehicle. Be sure and have plenty
of hand sanitizer, and make it a rule to use it before entering and again
immediately after getting out of the car.
Here are a few more tips from the Centers of Disease Control
and Prevention:
·
(As much as possible) Try and keep from touching
surfaces. Consciously taking into account what is most touched in your
surroundings will help you cut down on using hand sanitizer as much. For those
cases when you do have to touch something commonly handled, simply apply
sanitizer or wash your hands as soon as possible. While carpooling, avoiding
surfaces is especially difficult, so wearing gloves is a good idea.
·
Clean those hands. After touching surfaces
outside of your own home, be sure to use sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
Or, if you would rather use soap, wash in warm water for at least 20 seconds.
·
Reduce the size of the rideshare. Though it
might cause multiple trips or even more cars on the road, it is important to
create space even in confined spots. Consider cutting the limit to half of what
it was before and require everyone in the car to wear a mask during the trip.
·
Keep the ride ventilated. Weather permitting,
keep windows open or cracked so plenty of air gets in and out. Good ventilation
is key to keep from the spread of germs.
More Safety Tips
Here are a few more tips on keeping your young ones safe as you travel:
·
Make sure car seats are tightly secured and
wiped down with disinfectant between each use. When clipping in a car seat it
is important to make sure it is pulled tightly against the back of the seat.
Sometimes you really have to wrench on the belt, but if you can wiggle the seat
back and forth with minimal effort, it’s not tight enough.
·
When strapping your child into a car seat, be
sure the top strap is pulled up to the top of the child’s chest. You should be
able to fit two fingers between the top strap and the child, so it needs to be
snug but not too tight to where it’s uncomfortable.
· Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel. No matter how badly your child is screaming for a toy he dropped on the floor of the car, do not try and reach around or turn around to grab it. If it is something your child needs at the moment, simply pull the car over and put on the hazards. It might only take a second to look back and grab that toy while driving, but it also only takes a second to completely veer into the opposite lane.
