The pandemic is far from over, yet many of us are already itching for road trips with friends and family. Despite this eagerness to go outside and explore, it’s still not safe enough to venture out and mingle with people from other households. It’s not worth the great risk of acquiring the potentially fatal virus.
While going out nowadays may compromise your physical health, there are exceptions to the rule when it comes to car rides. One particular exception is when there are emergencies that you need to attend to, so your family needs to ride out with you.
In the event of an emergency, you and your family should still follow safety protocols. With the rising cases of COVID-19 patients, emergency trips don’t excuse you from the implemented health regulations.
Pandemic Car Ride Essentials
In preparing yourself for emergency car rides, you have to equip yourself with essentials. For all household members who are of legal age, you should make it a priority that they take a learner’s permit online course so that anyone in the house will be available to drive in case of any emergencies.
While the main driver during emergency rides should always keep a level head, the rest of the company should do the same. Here are the things you should never forget when going out for emergency trips.
Whenever you travel during this pandemic, you should always keep a sanitation kit in your car. These are the most important tools you need when going out, especially if you need to make a rest stop or step out of the car and join the public.
This sanitation kit should include the common essentials such as extra masks and face shields for every person in the car, rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes.
The next thing you need to do is to research your destination. With the continuously rising number of COVID-19 cases, it will be wise to postpone your trip rather than risk the whole family’s well-being.
Once you head out and feel the need to do a bathroom stop, be extra careful when using the public toilet. Use your foot to flush the toilet and, if you are to use gloves, make sure to still wash your hands after or sanitize with alcohol before you get back into the car.
While it is most advisable to only travel with those you share the same household with, it’s still better to keep the air flowing within your vehicle. Keep the windows rolled down to maintain ventilation inside the car.
Although these are essential tips for when you need to travel during this pandemic, it’s still best to stay at the safety of your home if your trip can be postponed for another time. The increase in the number of cases should be enough evidence that the virus still looms around us and that no one is an exception.
Emergency trips often can’t be avoided, but even then, these trips will most likely be stressful. So what will happen to the future of “normal” road trips?
The Future of Road Trips
It should be understandable for many of us that traveling during this time should be avoided. While things might brighten up eventually, the future of travel will most likely be slightly different from before.
This quarantine period has reminded us of the truly essential things in life as we spend every day with our family at home. As a result, this may lead to the following changes in travel preferences and trends in the long run.
Traveling more consciously is a foreseen trend in the future of tourism. Along with the onset of the pandemic, people have been demanding sustainable options. This trend of sustainability may lead countries to have certain policies to control the effects of climate change.
Trips are projected to be more inclusive. Regarding people of color, the wide spectrum of gender, and the diversity in body types, travel options will be more inclusive and understanding of each client’s specific needs. This will widen the horizon for the future of travel.
Travelers will seek to empower locals through their travels. With this in mind, travelers could put in the effort to educate themselves about the communities they will travel to so that they could potentially help the local citizens in their industry and help protect their local environment.
These are some projected ways that the travel industry will shift in the long run due to the effects of the pandemic and the quarantine period. Though these are mere projections, the trends indicate that these new preferences will most likely prevail.
These days, emergency trips may sometimes occur, and when these do, you have to be well-prepared in terms of sanitation. Going out of the house still seems like a far-fetched idea, but while we wait for when things go back to “normal,” let’s hope that the future of travel is as bright as it seems.
