Should we be Dashing During This Corona Virus Era?

None of us really saw this coming in 2020. Who would have thought that we were about to embark into a a real life horror movie? Whether you believe we're living in a time with a killer disease in our world or think it's just a bunch of exaggerations and conspiracies thrown out there by world leaders really makes no difference. Either way you look at it, it is all cinema at its best. That's not to say that the Covid 19 disease is a joke. There are real people dying from this disease, and nobody should ever make light of it.

Is it safe to be dashing during the Covid 19 Pandemic?

Opinions about Covid 19 and everything that surrounds it is no laughing matter. It has changed all of our lives forever. I am not going to make this post about my personal opinions about this disease. I will not give any political views about things or anything like that. I may in the future, but for now in this post we are going to be talking about whether or not dashers should be dashing during this Corona Virus pandemic.

How dangerous is it to dash with Covid 19 out in the world?

If we go back to Pre-Covid times there was always danger in dashing. I mean, let's be serious here. When you are on the road for hours at a time each and every day you are at a high risk for being involved in an auto accident. Not that an accident will necessarily be your fault, but naturally the more time you are on the road the greater chance that you will be involved in an auto accident that can cost you your life.

Of course this does not mean that you are guaranteed to be in an accident. If you count all of my deliveries between all of the food delivery platforms I have over 10,000 and have not been in an accident, but I have always known that I was at a high risk, and trust me when I say that there have been a few close calls.

Like many other dashers I have also been out late at night. We are talking about 11pm to 3am and even later sometimes. Basically the middle of the night. We all know that this is the time when people get robbed, mugged, carjacked, raped, murdered, etc. more frequently than other times of the day. I mean, really, dashers have always been out there risking their lives and have always been in danger when making deliveries during these dark hours.

Does it even have to be that late for a dasher to be in danger? Not really. As all dashers know we all have ran into some real weirdos out there when making deliveries. Female dashers have always had to worry about weird guys trying to get frisky with them. As a male dasher, I have had some customers try and bait me into an argument which could have easily escalated into a physical confrontation. I'm pretty good at squashing things like that real quick though, and the moron will stand there feeling like an idiot. Not my point, but I'm sure you get the point. Doordash has always been a job that is full of dangers.

 

 

With Covid 19 now in our world, we now have another danger to worry about. Just like all of the other dangers we face while dashing; precautions will have to be made. We take precautions when we drive our vehicle by wearing our seat belt. If we didn't take this precaution, we could get in a car crash and die. The precaution we take by wearing our seat belt could save our life. Of course it is no guarantee. Just because we are wearing our seat belt does not mean that we will survive a horrible crash. It sure does increase our chances of survival though and we must always take precautions and play the percentages.

We also take precautions when it comes to getting mugged as we know not to walk down a dark alley late at night. Ladies take precautions about not getting assaulted or mugged by not standing too close to a door when making a delivery where a man can pull them in.We take precautions not to get robbed or murdered by not making a delivery if things just don't seem safe. We make common sense calls all the time to stay safe. These common sense calls do not guarantee that we will not get robbed, jacked, murdered, beat up or even killed, but they sure to minimize the risks.

Just how dangerous it is to be dashing with Covid 19 in our world is really up to you. Precautions need to be in place to minimize the risk of catching the disease. Wearing a mask correctly when you are out dashing. Staying six feet away from people. keeping your hands clean as much as possible and trying to not touch your face are all very important. Just remember nothing is guaranteed in this world. A person can be as careful as anyone and still catch Covid 19. Then you might have a person who walks around like they don't give a damn and not catch the disease. We just never know.

Can Dashers catch Corona Virus while out dashing?

Of course a dasher can catch Covid 19 while out dashing. The good news is that a dasher is no more likely than anybody else out in the world to catch the Corona Disease. Anybody that is out in the world has the same chance of catching this disease just as much as anybody else.

Once again, the key here is to protect yourself and minimize your risk of catching the disease. How? By simply following what you have been hearing all over the news this whole first half of 2020. Wear your mask and practice social distancing.

Can a dasher catch the Corona Virus dropping off to customers?

Again, there is always the chance of catching Covid 19 anytime you are around other people. This includes picking up food from a merchant or while making a delivery. Even though I have not personally dashed for the past couple of months, I was still dashing quite a bit for the first couple of months when this pandemic hit.

During this time, whenever I would accept a call, I would text the customer right away and let them know that this was going to be a no-contact delivery. This was before Doordash implemented this into their app. Most customers didn't have a problem with it, but there were a few that did. Whether they did or didn't I did not care. I wanted to minimize contact that I would have with customers. I would put their food somewhere around their front door, knock on the door and walk away. They would come out, see their food there and see me on my way back to my car. Minimizing contact with people and wearing your mask are the safety precautions that all dashers should be taking.

Should I avoid certain restaurants while out dashing due to Covid 19?

I have noticed that there are certain merchants that take better safety precautions than others. If a certain restaurant seems like they don't care about the safety of their customers then maybe it would be best to not take that merchant's calls. There was a few merchants that were on my no accept list. One in particular was a small Korean restaurant that didn't seem to give a damn about the Corona Virus. The girls in the front, the cooks and everybody else that worked there did not wear a mask. They acted like everything in life was just fine and dandy. I remember thinking how they were in total denial of what is really going on in this world and how it was much easier for them to just forget about this disease and pretend like everything is as it's always been. Of course I never went back there again.

One incident I will not forget was when I was in a Little Caesars restaurant around the middle of March. I was worried about all the customers standing in the lobby waiting for their pizza. I was trying to stay away from everybody. I had my mask on, but it was pretty early with all of this and most people thought of it as a joke still. A girl that worked there called my name and I walked up to the counter to get my Doordash order pizzas. As I grabbed the pizzas this worker girl sneezed right there in my face from the other side of the counter. My instinct was to turn my head right away (which I did when she sneezed,) and I got the heck out of there as fast as I could. I'm not going to lie. This scared the heck out of me. I kept telling myself that if I got Corona I knew where I got it from.

Eventually, I decided to only take calls where I would be able to go through a drive-thru. That meant McDonald's, Jack in the Box, Carl's Jr. and other fast food joints. I would also take a few other places like Chiles where they really implemented their safety measures and would bring the food out to your car. From my window, I would tell them to put everything on the roof of my car. They would and as soon as they walked away I would open my door, get the food and make my delivery.

Should I wear a mask while I am out dashing?

I'm pretty sure you already know the answer to this question. Yes, if you want to minimize your risk of catching Covid 19 then you should always be wearing your mask while you're dashing. This doesn't mean that you have to be wearing it while driving alone in your car, but when and if you enter a restaurant, when you are in a drive-thru window or any other time you are around other people wear your mask and stay safe.

I am also going to mention gloves here. When Covid 19 first arose, there were a lot of dashers that started wearing gloves. The problem was that there was a lot of cross contamination going on. Dashers would put on gloves, go into a restaurant and touch door handles and other things in the restaurant. They would then return to their cars and start driving while still wearing their gloves. They just took all the germs from the restaurant right into their car. Not a very wise thing to do.

 

I would not advise anybody to wear gloves. Instead use sanitizer or do what I did. I had a jug of water and soap in the trunk of my car. I would wash my hands with soap and water whenever I felt the need to. This may have been after coming out of a restaurant or after making a delivery. I felt good knowing I always had soap and water available.

I understand that there are those that are against wearing mask. They will bring up their American rights and government control. They'll talk about how God had it meant for them to breathe, or they might say how by wearing a mask they are ingesting all of their germs. Some will even say that wearing a mask is keeping them from becoming immune to this Corona Virus. All I can say is everybody has an opinion on this and can do what they want to a certain point. I would advise anybody out there with any common sense though to please wear your mask and increase your chance of staying safe.

What precautions should I take while out dashing so I don't catch Covid 19?

We have already talked about many of the precautions a dasher should take while they are out dashing. Here is a short list of the main precautions that you should remember.

Wear your mask when you are around others

If you have to enter a restaurant, practice social distancing and stay six feet away from people

Practice no-contact deliveries

Carry hand sanitizer with you or a jug of water and some soap with you

Do not touch your face

If you practice everything mentioned here, you are minimizing any chances of you catching Covid 19. Remember what I said earlier though, nothing is ever guaranteed in life. Just because you do everything right in life does not mean that something cannot go wrong. By taking precautions it just shows your character of being a responsible person and doing what is right not only for your safety but for the safety of other too. By taking precautions, chances are that you will be alright. The wreckless person that does not take any precautions in life has a much greater chance of things not going their way. Again though, this is generalizing, this is not always the case. Just like everything else though, we must play the percentages to increase our chances of staying safe.

I never thought that I would be writing about pandemic on this blog, but it has overtaken every aspect of our world. I am confident that mankind will overcome this Covid 19 disease in time.

I wish every dasher out there a safe and pleasant shift. Happy dashing!!!