No reason to drive as far as they did when employed and every reason to drive less since their incomes have likely been reduced drastically. Unemployment by itself does not nearly cover lost income, it’s usually half or less.
I know I once would drive into town just to look around, go into a Lowes or similar to check out the garden center, even drive out to the country to enjoy a nice day or to clear my head if I was worried about something. Don’t do that now, and I’m working.
The only two remaining instances of driving for pleasure in a year for me are an annual vacation beach trip and a fall drive up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Everything else is coordinated around necessary travel, to and from the office. Family events are the only thing that gets me on the road on weekends anymore.
I started to commute to work by bicycle. I have also built a couple of trailers that allow me to use it for grocery shopping and general errands I would normally use the car for. I put 4000 miles on my bicycles this year.
My family vehicle is a 15 passenger van and if the whole family has to be someplace thats the ride. We have 9 children so a car is unavoidable.
That van still doesn’t see more than 6 thousand miles a year.
I do have a Jeep for the hunting trips and occasional bad weather commutes, it has only seen about 2 thousand miles at the most this year.
I don’t do any driving for pleasure anymore. I used to throw the kids in the back of the little SUV and drive to see my brother, who lives 900 miles away. I used to drive to antique shops, or on hikes, or take the kids to historic reenactments, or go out into the country to scout out places to move. No more. Not saying that I use public transportation either—I just don’t do much except work. Life is nowhere near as nice as it used to be. But that’s what happens when commies are in charge.
Oh, and I don’t take those little weekend trips either. The idea of taking a vacation is so ludicrous I can’t tell you. It’s just not happening and I see no hope of having one again.