North Yorkshire Police have been stopping vehicles on the A59 (near Hopper Lane) this morning and enforcing the coronavirus instruction of only undertaking essential travel.
Primarily vehicles were targetted where there was more than one occupant and were given advice – some voluntarily turned around and said they were going home, some argued at length with the officers.
Fines were not being handed out, but there were many that were looking to push the “Stay at Home” instruction.
Fewston and Swinsty Reservoirs also had a number of cars parked by walkers, but less than the previous day.
These were some of the (non-essential) reasons given to the police over an hour at the roadside:
- I needed to deliver a lawnmower
- I needed to pick up a puppy
- I wanted to go for a walk in the countryside
- I wanted to visit my mother
- The local vets are not open and I need to go to one in Lancashire
Many were travelling some distance, from another county. Some
Part of the need to keep people off the road is not to just avoid the spread of Coronavirus, but to minimise the likelihood of needing the emergency services – stay at home, stay safe.
What is essential (allowed) travel:
- Medical appointments
- Seeing people that you are the primary carer
- Shopping, this should be as infrequent as possible and be done on your own
- Travelling to work if you are a key worker or can not work from home
- Saying goodbye when someone is dying
What is not essential (not allowed) travel:
- Travelling to a destination to just exercise or walk a dog
- Just going for a drive
- Visiting extended family or friends
- Shopping for non-essential items
Stay at home!
There were still vehicles parked near to the Swinsty and Fewston Reservoirs, but less than the day before.
Taking a badly injured or acutely ill dog to a vet is a perfectly valid reason as far as I’m concerned – which is certainly more important than people going to non-essential work.
I wonder if the RSPCA view on this also conflicts with the police view above?
It doesn’t elaborate on it in this article but does on Twitter. The person mentioned was taking a pet for vaccinations 2 hours away from home. Taking an ill pet to a local vets would of course be essential. The above was not
Why are the police officers stopping cars and talking to drivers closer than 2m without wearing masks?
Not all heros wear masks
Super spreaders!
I don’t see the problem with going for a walk in the countryside, and driving a couple of miles to get away from it all, far better than walking in the very busy Valley Gardens, much less chance of catching C-19.
Everyone needs to calm down and stop being so hysterical, including the police.