One of the clearest signals that we are living in unusual times is the stillness of the streets. Since lock down, our cars have spent more time sitting idle. When we do head out, it is rare to sit in traffic for more than a minute or two - even in peak hour. But, are we doing enough to keep the curve representing COVID-19 infections as flat as possible?
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Before COVID-19, on any given weekday, you had to build time into your journey to accommodate traffic and allow enough time to find a park. Even Saturdays could be pretty hectic on the roads, particularly around the middle of the day as we ferried kids around, ran errands or headed out for something to eat.
Figures show that traffic on a Saturday tends to peak between 11.30am and 1pm, as one might expect.
Traffic counts on five intersections in Greater Newcastle provided by Transport for NSW show a bell-shaped curve with a peak at midday. The data show half of that volume of traffic at 9am and 6.30pm.
In the new world order with COVID-19 restrictions, the bell-shaped curve remains. However, the Saturday peak between 11.30am and 1.30pm has dropped by about 30 per cent.
As before, a trip at 9am on a Saturday has only about half the cars on the road as at midday. That suggests that there would be half the number of people in the supermarket, the hardware store, or wherever your Saturday travels might be taking you. As restrictions begin to ease, and we all start to venture out a little more, that is worth considering in your own strategy to avoid infection.
Before COVID-19, we all appreciated that it was better to get going early or head out later to beat the crowds. That attitude holds value now when the mantra is to maintain social distancing.
Restrictions may be lifting, but strict observation of social distancing remains an imperative if we are to continue to suppress the rate of infections. If you are among the 70 per cent of people who seem to be getting out and about on a Saturday, consider going a couple of hours earlier or a couple of hours later. Beat the crowd, and flatten the curve.
