At such uncertain times for the world and with everyone taking extraordinary measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, drivers still work delivering food, medicines and essentials to help us fight against the virus.
As a company working with those who rely on driving, we would like to share a list of best practices we use to ensure the safety of both drivers, customers and general public, aimed at avoiding the spread of the virus.
#1 - Basic protective measures against Covid-19
The typical symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, cough and shortness of breath. Seek for immediate medical advice if you are displaying any of these symptoms. You should not drive/work if you feel sick. In order to help containment and not spread the virus or get sick:
- wash your hands frequently with water and soap or make sure you have an alcohol-based gel with you
- maintain at least 1 meter/3 feet distance between yourself and anyone else
- avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth: hands touch many surfaces and can pick up the virus
- cough or sneeze in your bent elbow or in a disposable paper tissue you will throw away immediately afterwards
- follow the advise of your healthcare provider and your local authorities
#2 - Before driving
Before driving, add the following checks to your usual walkaround checks/pre-trip checklist:
- Check you have enough hygiene supplies to work: face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer
- clean the outside of the vehicle, concentrating on points that can be touched by either passengers, co-workers or other people such as door handles
- clean the main points of contact inside your vehicle, like the steering wheel, the seat and the dashboard, handles, radio device if any, and don't forget about your mobile phone
#3 - While driving
- If you sneeze or cough, cover nose and mouth with your bent elbow or help yourself with a paper tissue that has to be disposed afterwards
- open the windows to improve ventilation if possible
- ask coworkers, passengers and people to maintain the safety distance
- if you are going to have passengers, prepare your vehicle in advance for that purpose, assigning seats in an adequate way in order to keep the distance - ask your company to provide posters or reminders to be displayed in the vehicle
#4 - Contactless delivery
- if you are a delivery driver, ask your company to implement contactless/deliver at door tools to avoid contact as much as possible
- agree the point of delivery with your customer and communicate in advance
