Be Safe While Walking
by Eloy Gomez
GRF safety/emergency coordinator
This pandemic has forced everybody to adjust their lifestyles in the fight against COVID-19. Everyone has come a long way in the battle—wearing masks in public areas, washing hands frequently, socially distancing and greeting friends and family with a fist or elbow bump. One of the COVID-19 lifestyle adjustments that bothers me is how people walking for exercise on sidewalks step into traffic lanes to let others pass.
This is for social distancing purposes, but it’s very dangerous as it places pedestrians in the path of traffic, upping the chances of an accident. Walking in the street is also unsafe for motorists, who might have to swerve/brake unexpectedly to avoid hitting you. So here are three things you can do to avoid walking in the street and still minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure.
• If both you and the other person are wearing face masks, the exposure is minimal and within seconds after passing that person, there would be six-feet of social distancing.
• Momentarily hold your breath as you walk past that person.
• If you are skeptical of the two choices above, step aside onto a walkway or sidewalk, exercise caution when stepping onto uneven surfaces.
Whatever you choose to do, please do not step into the street. You have come a long way to avoid contracting the virus, don’t spoil your efforts now and risk being injured by a vehicle.
