How drivers are affected by the easing of lockdown
Escaping lockdown has been the dream for the past 12 months. The Government has revealed a staggered process to end our confinement. But what exactly will that mean for car owners and drivers? Here’s what we’ll be able to do and when.
Using your car from today
All non-essential shops and services – including car sales showrooms – had been closed but, unlike the first lockdown in March 2020, garages and MOT test stations remained open.
Car showrooms can reopen from today – see the section below about car-buying.
The lockdown restriction included being asked to stay at home; the only reasons for straying beyond the local area were shopping for essentials, seeking medical treatment, work where you can’t do it at home, accessing education and caring for people.
Travel from 12 April
The Government’s “stay at home” order ended on 29 March although restrictions remain in place. Gatherings are limited to two households or six people meeting outdoors. From 12 April there’s a re-opening of non-essential retail, outdoor attractions such as zoos and indoor leisure facilities.
However, the only overnight accommodation open to non-work drivers will be self-contained such as holiday lets. So we still won’t be allowed to visit and then stay overnight with friends or relatives.
Previously, a short drive to a location to take exercise was allowed; a half-hour jaunt to the beach wasn’t. But now it is possible to venture beyond your locale for leisure as well as exercise, providing the limit of two households/six people is heeded.
Hospitality venues will also only be allowed to serve people outdoors. The AA’s Luke Bosdet warned: “Look at what happened when the first lockdown was eased last year: we had thousands of people taking day trips to the beaches and finding that hospitality and toilets were closed. Let’s hope the government and local authorities plan ahead better this time.”
Travel from 17 May
The aim is to lift most social contact rules while indoor hospitality and entertainment is likely to re-open on 17 May, too. This allows six people or two households to gather indoors.
With hotels and B&Bs also open for non-work purposes, we’ll be able to drive farther afield because we’ll be able to stay overnight.
Travel from 21 June
The Government hopes this date will signal the end of all lockdown restrictions. After then we should be able to go pretty much where we want within the UK because we’ll be able to stay with family and friends in any numbers.
But be warned: during the peak summer months, space in accommodation is going to be at a premium. As a result, the AA believes this is going to be the summer of the staycation, with most drivers taking their holidays in the UK.
AA president Edmund King said: “More than half of drivers just want to be ‘on the road’ for the freedom to go anywhere, the journey, to find new places or just because they are excited about the destination.
“We predict that the ‘road trip’ will form an important part of our social and cultural activities as we finally get out of lockdown.”
Buying a car
As they’ve been deemed non-essential retail, car dealerships have been shut since December 2020. They will open again on 12 April.
Chief executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association, Sue Robinson, said: “Dealerships can reopen safely and immediately. They are looking forward to doing so as soon as possible to welcome customers back.
“Dealerships can easily be operated in a COVID-secure way; they have large areas, generally have a lot of outdoor space on the forecourt and today there are very few vehicles in showrooms as these spaces are already adapted, meaning social distancing is easy to maintain.”
But the car buying process is likely to change. Robinson added: “Dealerships’ staff can take all necessary steps such as measuring customers’ temperature when they enter the premises, wearing masks, working behind protective screens, as well as sanitising cars and keys.”
For car dealers it’s been a frustrating time with garden centres allowed to open while showrooms have remained shut. But there is an upside: “Industry data suggests that many car buyers are waiting for showrooms to reopen to complete their purchases, indicating that dealers can expect a degree of pent-up demand when customers are allowed to visit dealerships again,” said Robinson.
Learning to drive
Driving lessons can resume on 12 April. Tests will commence 10 days later. This is to allow learners the chance to have a refresher lesson or two before their test. Anyone who had a test booked before that date will receive a refund.
While learner drivers were able to practise during lockdown with tuition from parents, they may struggle to get a test. From July to September 2020, there was a 53.8 per cent decrease in the number of driving tests compared with 2019. That means an estimated 430,000 test backlog when testing resumes.
Learners and instructors/testers will also have to abide by increased sanitary measures such as mask wearing and social distancing as far as is practicable.
Travelling to Europe
Currently there’s no travel to Europe, or any other foreign country unless it’s for work, legal purposes or urgent compassionate reasons. That is unlikely to change in the near future. Nigel Wonnacott from Brittany Ferries believes there’s no prospect of travel before 17 May – and even that might be optimistic.
He said: “If the number of vaccinations rises in France and Spain and Covid numbers have come down, I believe we’ll strike some kind of bilateral agreement with those countries to enable travel. But I do think vaccine passports are inevitable, whether it’s in the form of a smartphone app or stamp in your passport.”
Bearing in mind possible travel is a month or more away and a lot can happen, the question is: to book or not to book? Wonnacott said: “Most reputable transport companies offer flexible ticket options that allow you to change your booking or get a refund.”
If you’re worried about ferries being overbooked, Wonnacott thinks it’s unlikely. “We have seen an upswing in bookings but it’s from a very low base,” he said.
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