How wearing a mask while driving can prevent COVID-19

Every now and then I see memes or social media posts that poke fun at people wearing masks while driving. “Why would someone wear a mask while driving?” Well, there are several reasons. You could wear a mask if you are driving with someone outside of your circle of contact (who, even with a mask, is terribly depressed) or you could do what I do: Wear your mask while driving to remind yourself not to not touch your face.

I am at high risk so I am very serious about not getting the “Rona”. From day one, I took all the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control to heart. In the early days of the outbreak, I even stripped my clothes straight off as soon as I was in the house and jumped in the shower after any trips I had to take. Then I laundered all the doorknobs I had touched on the way. Yeah, I’m a Rona warrior.

Do you remember not touching your face? It was one of the CDC’s favorite recommendations in the early days of the pandemic. Then we all realized shit it’s downright impossible not to touch your face. A British study found that humans touch their faces on average 23 times per hour. The topic of discussion was mostly dropped in the media, although the CDC still recommends washing your hands before touching your face in large, bold print on its COVID-19 Prevention Tips Website. While we understand that the greatest risk of transmission of COVID-19 is through the air, the CDC still cautions against the possibility of surface transmission.

So I have a system: even if I don’t wear my mask while driving where I need to go, I wear it on the way back to remind myself to leave my face alone. I always hit my hands with disinfectant when I get in the car and have hard surface disinfectant wipes, but I don’t trust all of that as thoroughly as washing my hands thoroughly in my safe space.

Now I know what you are thinking: wearing a mask is boring. It’s that constant reminder of how shabby things sit right on your pretty face. This is why it is so useful. When I get behind the wheel and go scratch my face or brush my hair back, I have this annoying, intrusive object that forces me to consciously grapple with an unconscious action. It kinda reminds me of being in college when I first started painting my nails to stop my nail biting habit. I do not remove my mask until my hands have been washed properly, making sure that clean hands touch my face to remove the mask.

So of course wearing a mask while driving might make people in traffic think you’re weird, but what does that matter? You are hacking your own brain and preventing the transmission of a terrible disease. I don’t mind sounding like a nut for it.