Precautionary Measures for Bikers to Fight COVID-19
The whole world undergoes a period of great stress and therefore the government of many countries have decided to lock down few or all the states in order to fight the COVID-19. But the fight isn’t going to get over soon. Even when everyone’s cured of the virus, there is still high possibility of it returning back very quickly if we don’t take appropriate actions in the right span of time. Social distancing will have to be practiced even after the lockdown is lifted in order to always be on a safer side. Businesses will open again and vehicles will fill the roads. When that happens, it is good to keep in mind why motorcycles are the best means of transportation in times like this. In order to make your motorcycle travel safe, let’s discuss some health and safety tips that apply to every traveler irrelevant of the mode of transport.
Below are some of the health tips provided by W.H.O. (World Health Organisation) that every traveler should follow for a healthy lifestyle:
Wash your hands frequently:
Wash your hands thoroughly, but also make sure to clean your motorbike with professional motorcycle washing soap. Clean particularly well the parts which you are to touch frequently such as handles, side mirrors, key hole, seat, etc.
Always carry a hand sanitizer:
Put a hand sanitizer in the jacket pocket and use it to clean your hands before wearing your hand gloves. Put your gloves to washing once you’re back at home and keep an extra pair so you can use it on alternate days when one pair is in washing. Also, try and use the sanitizer wherever you don’t have the facility to wash your hands with water and soap.
Never touch your eyes, nose and mouth:
This will be easy while you are riding on your bikes as you will have your helmet on and you simply won’t be able to touch your face while riding. If you stop and take off your helmet, make sure to sanitize your hands, in case you accidentally touch your face.
Avoid physical contact with others:
Avoid any physical contact with others including shaking hands unless you have your gloves on. It would be best to avoid hugs overall, as when you are coming close to hug each other, you might breath each other’s germs. Luckily, this doesn’t quite apply to bike riders and their passengers, as the passenger hugs the rider from behind, thus there is no risk of inhaling each others’ germs. Still, it is strongly recommended to limit your passengers to members of your own household.
Cover your nose and mouth when coughing/sneezing:
Keep a pack of tissues or napkins to use at the time of coughing or sneezing and throw the tissues in the garbage bins immediately. In the absence of tissues, cover your nose and mouth with the inside of your elbow, better if with a sleeve. Remember to wash your clothes whenever there is availability.
Keep away from people facing respiratory problems:
Stay away from people who are coughing and sneezing, or have any other visible signs of respiratory problems. Try maintaining a distance of at least 1 meter (3 feet) from such people. The reason is when a person sneezes or coughs, he/she tends to throw out small liquid droplets from their mouth or nose which may contain the virus, and if you are standing close to them, you may have a high chance of inhaling those contaminated droplets, thus introducing the virus to your body. This is another reason motorcycles are best modes of transporting in these conditions, as even if the passenger from behind fails to observe the safety rules, they will not threaten the driver’s health who is facing front, and vice versa.
Wear breathing protection such as your helmet:
You are always recommended to wear an helmet at all times and to increase the protection you can wear a face mask which will ensure more safety as we tend to touch our face while putting on or taking off our helmets. You should be wearing a full face helmet, in case you don’t have a full face helmet, it is highly advisable to wear face mask.
Use credit card/online payments:
There is very high possibilities that you might get infected during exchange of money, as we never know where the cash is coming from (pun intended). Exchanging cash also puts the sellers health at a high risk. Hence, be a responsible buyer and make use of credit card/online payments instead of cash while making a purchase.
Pack your own toilet paper:
If you happen to stop somewhere in between and go to the washroom, avoid touching the jet spray unless holding it with your own toilet paper, as you can’t possibly know who touched that spray before you.
Although all these points initially might appear to be a burden in your daily routine, but we assure you that these habits will keep you and people around you safe. Happy riding!
By Chirag Saluja