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Bay Area folks under 'shelter in place': are you going for a drive?

59K views 766 replies 93 participants last post by  Sold Over Sticker 
#1 ·
The roads cannot possibly be more open during this time...
 
#103 ·
Back to the OP, this weekend I did notice a fair number of classic cars on the roads which did make me a bit jealous as I miss driving mine dearly. Yes I'm making assumptions about what they were doing but I don't believe it's essential that you cruise the high streets in a Model A Ford. Oh well, my classics are staying in the garage. Instead of going for a drive I went for a bike ride and wow the bike paths were loaded with people. Loaded. Makes me think in these crazy times where most leisure activities have been cut, people are taking the opportunity to rediscover simply going for a walk/bike ride which is a positive thing.
 
#104 ·
Yeah but they're totally missing the point about sheltering in place. I live on a walking path, and yesterday there was a 20 person pile up/traffic jam. Guys. That's not the point of this.

My friends relative pinched a nerve in his back, and asked to be taken to the hospital since he's in searing hot pain. He got to the hospital, saw what it looked like, and had my friend take him back home. He said it scared the hell out of him how it was overrun, and looked like ET where everyone is all kitted up and things are sealed.

It's why I'm not driving. That's all I need. Make a mistake, stack the car, and end up in a hospital right now in NorCal? ExCUSE me seriously? Please and THANK YOU? (gotta keep the Letterkenny vibin)
 
#108 ·
If people want to be stupid I just hope it is them or their family that pay the price and not anyone else.
 
#116 ·
Here is my issue: I have a 76 year old mother who is locked into her first floor apartment for weeks and needs some socialization. She lives 5 hours away in a state that is now "shelter in place". My state will probably have that order in a few days as well.

I am thinking about driving down to talk to her through her first floor window (closed window and talk on the phone) so she doesn't get even more depressed. I have sort of preplanned the trip: bring my own food, I would only need to stop once for gas. Outside contact would be extremely minimal. My wife and I have a box of latex gloves left over from when her dad was alive so staying clean to pump gas wont be an issue(had dementia and incontinence issues)I have been trying to get her to download Zoom, but she wont. She has an android, I have an iPhone, so easy video calls are out. I think me talking to her through the window for an hour would be more uplifting then a phone call or video call.

Will I even get stopped? if so, will I be arrested or fined?

Is it worth the minimal risk to bring an hour of happiness to a shut in?
 
#126 ·
The shelter-in-place orders here in the Bay Area currently allow for going out for exercise: walking, hiking, etc. Elder care is considered "essential activity" under the orders that I am familiar with. Worst case: Bring food, bottled water or toilet paper with you. If you get stopped, explain that you are bringing essential supplies to your mother. So far, it's not that you can't go out at all. Just stay away from other people.
 
#117 ·
Set up a meeting on Zoom. Even if it takes the two of you an hour long phone call to figure it out, it’s better than being shut in.

I don’t think you’ll get fined, but who knows. Enforcement of that seems to be all over the map.
 
#118 · (Edited)
That's what I've been trying to do (Zoom), but she is refusing for some stupid reason.

Another issue is that she had terrible internet and cell reception in her apartment. Half the time my calls never get answered and when they do, call drops happen. A lot. She isn't on a national carrier for some reason, just a state cell carrier.
 
#125 ·
Single folks definitely need socialization...but dammit, so do I. Even living with someone, we hardly see each other through the day (work in different parts of the house) and then may or may not be in the same room during the evening, unless we have Zoom/FaceTime gatherings with friends/family.

I'm on a daily with both of my parents, either FaceTime or phone. Mom is one state away and recently had surgery, so I'm especially concerned about her, but all of them are squarely in the age danger zone.

WA state went to shelter in place last night (about a week too late, IMO). Won't change my behaviour other than I'll just be doing delivery from restaurants instead of having gone to do pickup twice in the past 2 weeks.

Not driving at all unless it's important for the same reasons Brendan stated. Last thing I need is someone in an Excursion to run a light and t-bone me, sending me to the ER...especially given certain ER's here have waiting lines out the door right now. (No joke.)
 
#127 ·
Living with people helps. Having a nice back patio with a view helps. Assetto Corsa helps. Elysian Space Dusts help. Far Cry New Dawn coop helps. Letterkenny helps. Non stop texting helps. Zoom happy hours helps. Getting out of bed on time and early helps. At least you have cats to talk to. My cat is still 75 miles north of me. :laugh::laugh:
 
#134 ·
I have to say, it is nice to get out and about. I think it's ok as long as you are careful and keep the 'distance.'

I got an SOS call this morning from a buddy of mine; he works for the US government, was leaving his office in downtown Miami, his car wouldn't start, would turn over but kept dying. He asked to see if I could help; I've worked on his car before.

It was a beautiful morning for a drive, I enjoyed it. Never in years have I seen Miami traffic this sparse, it looked like the 1970's all over again. Really enjoyable ride.

I got downtown, it's about 40mins from my house. His office is a fortress but finally found him and the car. I played with starting the car but right away noticed the ignition lock was glitchy. It didn't feel right and he had, ''NO KEY'' showing in the MFI. I had brought my laptop with VCDS, so I plugged in and scanned the car. Took one look at the report, then told him he needed a towtruck to take it to the dealer. Immobilizer issue. I checked his FOB with my multimeter, but his battery in there was good. So it wasn't the FOB. Several faults found, but my guess is they'll have to pull the steering wheel and re-do the entire lock cylinder and re-code the keys. Or -- hopefully, it's not a bad ECU. Ouch.
We called the dealer, yes they were open and would take the car. Towtruck came, and off it went. I took my buddy home, he lives down in south Dade near me. Beautiful day out, sunroof open, very little traffic. Miami drivers actually being nice. For a change.

Great morning out and about. Needed that!
 
#138 ·
I’m working from home but had to set up a desktop computer the last couple days. Yesterday, I drove down to Sunnyvale from Redwood City to try and find dual monitors. Frys was completely sold out, same with Office Depot and Costco. Luckily, I found a couple monitors at Walmart. Lots of El Camino cruising in my Jeep WK2.

Today, I had to go to the office in SSF (we’re exempt)to grab some stuff. Took the Golf R. Got back home to RWC and realized I needed to do something back at the office. Another round trip. Later on I needed a VGA cable, which could only be found at Best Buy in Mountain View. Went back to RWC and realized the office scanner I borrowed was a piece of junk, so back to Best Buy Mountain View for a scanner.

So I drove all around the bay for a simple computer setup that I could of bought complete in one shot a couple weeks ago. Blew through a ton of gas, especially in the Jeep. Weird times.
 
#144 ·
^^Agreed.

What I'd like is the opportunity to work from home as needed because if given the option, I'd definitely want to be present at work for certain tasks. If we're having a design review, we're much more efficient all being in the same room and being able to use a whiteboard.

But on the days where I'm just compiling a report, I'm more efficient from home with fewer distractions and having background music play through speakers instead of headphones.
 
#159 ·
As Maury would say, the results are in!

Date: Total cases
1/31: First case
3/1: 7
3/5: 20 (+185%)
3/10: 45 (+125%)
3/15: 114 (+153%)
3/20: 196 (+71%)
3/25: 375 (+91%)


Again too soon to tell but IMO we're doing pretty well. Check out this article from the SF Chronicle comparing NYC to the Bay Area. The headline says it all "New York state has 10 times the COVID-19 cases California has. Why?" Part of the answer is more testing but the real answer can be seen via the chart below...


*Important note: Many Bay Area companies and most all of Silicon Valley tech companies started implementing work from home policies starting March 9th.
 
#160 ·
As Maury would say, the results are in!
Thanks for posting that. :beer:

I was having a discussion with a doofus who didn't know "why we're doing all of this" and "we should wait to see if..." I wanted to yell at her through the computer. :banghead:

It's funny, but I'm not good at math. I am, however, good at the concepts of math. How people can't/don't/won't see the runaway cases of this without early implementation of these orders is beyond my comprehension.
 
#167 ·
Id say also the reason why less cases in commiefornia because less density than NYC everyone is literally on top of eachother.

Newsom is still a tool

He is, but he's done a good job managing this so far, and he deserves credit for it. He was quick to shut down all schools and issue requests for what is essentially a lockdown in an effective manner. While some of his and his predecessor's policies aren't the best in terms of California's economic health, IMO, going heavy with prevention on the coronavirus is key to ensuring we get back to our pre-coronavirus economy sooner than later.

The issue in NY, aside from the high density, is that NYC seems to elect interesting characters as mayor, and if it wasn't for their governor making the necessary calls, de Blasio had no clue as to what to do.
 
#168 ·
Meanwhile in Australia...

- Schools are open. Well at least if you want to send your kid, you can (I have my three learning from home, they are all HS age). NFI why we haven't closed them yet
- Essential services are open. Including hairdressers. NFI why hairdressing is essential.
- Everyone else is at home.

Our Gvt is tripping over itself left and right. So many decisions just do not make practical sense.
 
#171 ·
 
#184 ·
I had a full tank and went for a drive, and we only got out of the car to take a few pics when nobody was around, so we had no social interaction. We just drove for 3 hours through the forest and out to the coast. Came back home, drove into the garage, jumped in the shower and thankful to get some fresh air. After 12 days inside my house, it felt great. Hwy 84 to 35 to 9 to 1 to 92 and home. Woodside, La Honda, Boulder Creek, Ben Lomand, Davenport, Half Moon Bay. Since I was in the Mustang, luckily there were no crowds to careen through.





















 
#185 ·
Very nice Dave.
 
#186 ·
Took a test drive in the truck after fixing the timing chain. Engine is still clattery so I guess I'll head back into the garage and socially distance myself while I adjust the valves.

 
#190 ·
Thanks! :beer:

My phone received an emergency alert from the city about sheltering in place till at least 4/19.

Did the NorCal folks get anything?
I didn't but my GF and roommate both got the emergency alert. Apparently no date given though.
 
#197 ·
I went for a nice drive on Friday. Didn't do anything too spirited, but it was still great to get out of the house and drive around a bit with the windows down.

If you're concerned about wrecking or something stupid happen, just remove the risk.

I'd be eating paint off the wall if I were you by this point.
 
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