Driving To Exercise

Where I live, I have to walk through streets worth of people to exercise.

Surely it is safer for me to drive to a secluded hill or field or any other secluded area, to then walk for an hour then drive straight home?

Police guidance in England clearly allows this - why not in Scotland?

Why the contribution is important

To allow us to SAFELY exercise without fear of legal reprecussions

by ChrisK on May 05, 2020 at 06:28PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.4
Based on: 53 votes

Comments

  • Posted by Jigzy May 05, 2020 at 18:47

    In my opinion If everyone chose to drive to a place to exercise there would be way too many vehicles on the road potentially putting the emergency services under undue pressure. There are many ways to exercise at home or in the garden if you have one. Maybe choose a quiet time if you feel the need to get out and use the pavements. Stay safe.

  • Posted by Drexciya May 05, 2020 at 18:48

    Places people drive to get too busy. Creates high volumes of people in one place

  • Posted by Ayrshire92 May 05, 2020 at 18:51

    I agree with you ChrisK.
    Scotland has more open space per head of population than England and Wales. Most of it is easily reached by a short car journey but I think what the government is worried about is the sudden arrival of dozens of people at popular walking spots and beaches, hence why we have not followed England.
    I am fortunate to live on the coast and I do feel for folk in the cities who can only get to their local park......along with dozens of others. It makes sense to me to spread the load and allow people to travel to less populated places to take their exercise, both physical and mental.

  • Posted by TreeGarland May 05, 2020 at 18:51

    Absolutely.
    Some sort of extended freedom is necessary for so many reasons. Mental Health being one.

  • Posted by DuckPondFan May 05, 2020 at 19:00

    For single people stuck at home because of health/mobility issues/risk of covid-19 and suffering from mental health difficulties, being able to take a drive to a nearby coast/countryside, sit in their car and enjoy the sounds and smells around them, will be extremely beneficial to their mental health.

  • Posted by Hamsterpus May 05, 2020 at 19:02

    The Cairngorms are a healthy place to exercise on the hills with no realistic chance of virus transmission. Allow people to drive there and to the rational parks to walk in fresh air.

  • Posted by CassieA212 May 05, 2020 at 19:07

    I think allowing people to travel a short distance would ease the congestion in cities for exercise; however, plasces were it is known to have narrow paths and limited parking should be discouraged.

  • Posted by pamwaugh May 05, 2020 at 19:19

    I stay in a small village in the country and we had people driving here to walk their dogs. The car parks have been closed but they are now parking on the streets. Because there were so many people coming to the village it was making it too busy for residents to walk safely without coming into close contact with people.

  • Posted by BofA1 May 05, 2020 at 19:59

    Agree. Very disappointed that the Scottish Chief Constable and the Justice Secretary have ignored requests to obtain and publish confirmation that the Scottish regulations will be applied in the same sensible way as England on this point. In practice, the Scottish lockdown is more extreme than that in England.

    Banning people from access to the countryside has been one of the biggest mistakes of the Scottish Government’s strategy. The benefits of getting outdoors are not disputed, and Scotland has more than enough space to accommodate this, while applying social distancing. If there are any areas which might be overwhelmed by visitors, then simply ring fence them.

  • Posted by goldenoldie May 05, 2020 at 20:47

    We totally agree - choose an open area which is NOT a honeypot and allow us to drive there for exercise, providing it is not a long drive, say, up to 20 miles of your home.

  • Posted by Jp69 May 06, 2020 at 08:33

    Its hard to understand why we can’t already drive to exercise. Currently I have to walk around the local park where I meet loads of other people. We used to walk in the woods or hills and hardly meet anyone.

  • Posted by CharlottePlayfair May 06, 2020 at 09:54

    I am a farmer in one of these remote areas, and I disagree we are seeing massively increased numbers of walkers despite no driving - so the countryside would not be as quiet as you think. We have also seen an increase in the number of lost walkers and not a single walker taking hygiene precautions going through 'hot' areas e.g. gates that are used regularly. I am currently trying to work with the local mountain rescue to get some training for 'new' or 'rusty' walkers to decrease the number of lost people. I think exercise should remain local, but that could perhaps include a limit on the number of miles in your drive as I do appreciate that in some towns it would be easier for people to drive to a location on the edge of a village or town to take exercise.

  • Posted by Malky063 May 06, 2020 at 11:24

    I agree with jp69,, I've always been puzzled why we can't drive on our own somewhere., and go for a walk. The only reasoning I've heard is that it makes the roads busier and you need to visit a petrol station slightly more often... So what.? Hope the police open up some car parks soon.

  • Posted by RossK May 06, 2020 at 21:23

    Totally agree = people don't get infected by travelling a short journey in a car to a park or open area. People are completely missing the point here.
    The key is social distancing so as long as people stay a safe distance then I don't mind how far people travel or how long they are out for.
    We go to a large country park for our walks, partly on a golf course and many pool drive to the park. You are often hundreds of yards away from the nearest person and so there is no problem.
    This is not where infections are coming from.

  • Posted by ECM May 07, 2020 at 10:56

    Agree - with a limit of say 10-15 miles

  • Posted by Lornab May 08, 2020 at 15:58

    I believe the criteria of the exercise time far exceeding the driving time would relay the fears of those in remote areas fearing they would become overwehelmed. this is the case in the rest of the UK
    Due to joint surgery i find walking on pavements very harsh - me normal walks are 5-10 miles at the weekends but on softer trails which helps me maintain the fitness levels i have attained without causing further harm. My normal drive wold b 15 minutes to walk for 2-3 hours

  • Posted by lalaw May 10, 2020 at 12:21

    I agree with this proposal. In cities where local pavements are overcrowded, it’s impossible to keep 2m apart from other users. This make the pavements an ideal breeding ground for the virus. Also it’s very stressful: too many people using the same space for different - conflicting - purposes: walkers, family groups with small children, dogs, unexpected speeding cyclists and runners overtaking too close … Allowing short car journeys to areas ‘less travelled’ - whilst still keeping car parks and facilities closed near popular sites - will help not only those who are desperate for a peaceful and virus-free walk, but also those who can then enjoy the safer, less stressful pavements.
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