Covid19 Guidelines | nickysdrivingschool

COVID-19 Safeguarding – Terms and Conditions

To safeguard you, me and my other students while COVID-19 remains a threat it will be necessary to abide by the following additional terms and conditions. These terms and conditions are designed to help reduce the risk of contracting or transmitting the virus while taking driving lessons. Where there is any conflict between my standard terms and conditions of service and those listed below, these take precedence.

1. What are the risks of contracting COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and in some cases death. I will do my best to minimise the risk to you by sanitising those surfaces that you might touch and by ventilating the car whenever possible before each lesson. Due to the fact we will not be able to observe the 2 metre social distancing rule while in the car, and because we will be operating in a confined space used by a number of different people, I am unable to guarantee you will not be infected by COVID-19 during your driving lessons.

2. Accept full responsibility should you or a member of your household become infected  by undertaking driving lessons with me you are agreeing to accept full responsibility (except where I am negligent) for any loss, cost or expense you might incur should you contract COVID-19 or pass it on as a result of taking driving lessons with menot take any action against me to recover any such loss, cost or expense.

3. Consider whether you or a member of your household might be particularly vulnerable If you or any persons you are likely to be in contact with are at risk of having a severe form of the illness as a result of being infected by COVID-19 (e.g. senior citizens, pregnant women and those with underlying medical conditions) please consider very carefully whether you should be taking a course of driving lessons at this point in time.

4. Immediately let me know if you or any members of your household have been exposed to serious risk of contracting COVID-19, tested positive for it, advised to self-isolate or shown symptoms of it. If you know you may have potentially been in a situation where you or any member of your household may have contracted COVID-19, been tested positive for it, advised to self-isolate (e.g. NHS Test and Trace or equivalent) or shown symptoms (see below) it is vital that you let me know as soon as possible. Please note, I do not need personal details of any individual to whom this may relate. COVID-19 symptoms include: a high temperature (38C or above), a new, continuous dry cough, unexplained loss or change to your (or their) sense of smell or taste. This list is not exhaustive. For the latest information please refer to the Government guidelines or refer to https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus-symptoms/
Without charge to you this will help me to decide whether it will be necessary to postpone any future lessons until it is safe to continue based on the latest Government guidelines. Should I discover you could have given me more notice of this I reserve the right to charge you for any driving lessons postponed.

5. Be prepared to answer truthfully any questions I might ask before any driving lesson about potential COVID-19 exposure or symptoms I may need to ask you questions about whether you have been in contact with people:

Who might be infected (e.g. advised to self-isolate) or
Who might have recently returned from abroad or
Who you know are definitely infected or
Who are particularly vulnerable to a severe form of the COVID-19 illness (also see 3 above).

I will also need to ask you about whether you or indeed anyone else in your household have experienced symptoms (see 4 above). In this regard I may need to take your temperature using a non-contact thermometer. Please note I do not need personal details of any individual to whom the above may relate. Without charge to you, I reserve the right to postpone the lesson if I suspect you may have symptoms consistent with being infected by COVID-19 or have been seriously exposed to it until it is safe to continue based on the latest Government guidelines. Should I discover you could have given me more notice of this information I reserve the right to charge you for any driving lessons postponed as a result.

6. Reciprocal information about me and the need for action regarding points 4 to 5  I will inform you if I suspect I or anyone in my household have:

Been exposed to a serious risk of contracting COVID-19 or
Tested positive for COVID-19 or
Exhibited symptoms of COVID-19 infection or have been advised to self-isolate.

If so, I may need to postpone your driving lessons (including attending any driving test) and self-isolate, based on current Government advice, for at least 14 days or indeed longer in the case of a severe infection. In this instance any scheduled lessons would be carried forward until I was in a position to resume training.

7. Wear a face covering or mask during the lesson The wearing of a face covering or mask is recommended if social distancing is not possible. Therefore, I will require you to wear a face covering or mask during the lesson. Please bring your own face covering or mask, which should be one that you feel comfortable wearing. This must not interfere with your ability to drive safely. Please notify me at least 48 hours prior to any driving lesson if you do not have a suitable face covering or mask. I may be able to supply a disposable mask or a reusable mask at an additional cost. I reserve the right to postpone the lesson in this situation without charge. However, should insufficient notice be given and you turn up for a lesson without a suitable face covering or mask I also reserve the right to postpone and charge for the lesson.

8. Endeavour to properly wash your hands and face just prior to each lesson If at all possible, please wash your hands and face thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds immediately prior to attending a driving lesson. I will still require you to sanitise/wash your hands, after fitting a face covering or mask and prior to entering the car, using a suitable product that I will supply for this purpose. If you can not do this for medical reasons you may be required to wear suitable gloves instead. I will also make sure my hands are clean or suitably gloved as the case may be. At certain intervals it may be necessary for you to re-apply hand sanitiser or wash as I direct.

9. Avoid having to bring any extra objects to the driving lesson . Please be mindful not to bring any objects with you that may potentially be a carrier for COVID-19, if at all possible. You can bring your phone with you provided it is switched off and can be kept on your person. Anything that cannot be kept on your person will need to be placed in a plastic bag or container provided by me for this purpose and returned to you at the end of the lesson.

10. Avoid paying in cash . If you do bring cash, make sure it is the precise amount that is needed to pay for the lesson or lessons you want to purchase. I will ask you to drop it into a bag or container that I will keep for this purpose. The best way to pay for my service is to pay via online banking direct into my account. Please consult with me for other options.

11. Car ventilation.  It is known that COVID-19 transfer is reduced in open spaces therefore I may ventilate the car by keeping some of the windows open during the lesson. If this is not practical, I will endeavour to ventilate the car between lessons.

COVID-19 Safeguarding – Measures

The safety of my customers is of paramount importance to me and below is an overview of the COVID-19 safeguarding measures I have introduced to help reduce the risk of transmission of the virus during your driving lessons with me.

This is what I will do to help reduce the risk of potential COVID-19 transmission:

Clean what we touch 
Before each lesson I will sanitize those parts of the interior and exterior of my vehicle which may be touched by me or you. This will help to destroy any virus particles on those surfaces which may be touched during the lesson.
Occasional deep clean . Periodically I will give the whole interior of the vehicle a deep clean to remove any possible active virus particles not covered as part of my regular procedure above.
 I will make sure my hands have been sanitised before meeting with you, upon entering the vehicle and periodically after touching any surfaces where the virus may reside.Keep my hands clean.
Ventilate car as best I can If for some reason we haven't been able to keep the car well ventilated during the lesson I will ventilate it before the next lesson. This will help to remove any virus particles that may still be airborne in water vapour not stopped (or deflected) by the wearing of a face covering or mask. Well ventilated outdoor areas are known to dramatically reduce the risk of airborne water vapour transmission therefore the more we can create a similar environment inside the car the better.
Inform you of any COVID-19 exposure/symptoms If I suspect that I may have been seriously exposed to contracting the virus from others or are suffering from symptoms associated with being infected such as: a high temperature, a new continuous dry cough or unexplained loss or change to my sense of smell or taste. I will let you know as soon as possible and suspend lessons.
Wear face covering, mask or visor To help to reduce the potential transmission of the virus from me to you I will wear a face covering in the car for as much of the time as it is possible or safe to do so. The face covering will help to trap most of the water vapour as I breathe out or deflect it so it remains local to me rather than projected towards you. Good ventilation will also help disperse any such water vapour out of the car.

This is what I need you to do to reduce the risk of potential transmission:

Inform me of any COVID-19 exposure/symptoms 
Let me know as soon as is possible if you may have been seriously exposed to contracting the virus from others or are suffering from symptoms associated with being infected such as unexplained loss or change to my sense of smell or taste.a new continuous dry cough or an high temperature
Wash hands and face Thoroughly wash your hands and face with warm soapy water before we meet if at all possible. Soap applied for about 20 seconds is known to destroy virus particles that maybe on your skin.
Avoid handshake/physical contact Avoid the usual welcome handshake or any physical contact with me if possible.
Keep distance Keep a distance of around 2 metres while outside of the car.
Avoid unnecessary objects Avoid bringing any unnecessary objects with you, if possible, so as to limit the surfaces that may contain the virus in the car.
Avoid cash payments Avoid paying in cash if possible use direct bank transfers or other means.
Wear face covering or mask Put on a face covering or mask just prior to sanitizing your hands ready to enter the car to start your driving lesson.
Sanitize hands on entry Sanitize your hands after putting on your face covering or mask ready to enter the car to start your driving lesson.
Avoid touching Try to avoid touching any non-sanitised skin, your hair, your eyes or the face covering/mask you are wearing during the lesson if possible.
Cover up coughs or sneezes Sneeze or cough into your elbow or tissues if you have time. Then carefully store any used tissues in a plastic bag.
Re-sanitise hands as required I may require you to occasionally re-sanitize your hands but I will explain why this is necessary at the time.
Prepare for extra ventilation To improve ventilation the windows may be opened and you may need to wear extra clothing, particularly on cold days.
To accommodate this new way of working I have updated my standard Terms and Conditions and my Privacy Notice. I have also introduced a new set of specific COVID-19 Safeguarding Terms and Conditions to formalise these measures. Please take the time to read these documents.