Bad driving, no school and bankruptcy

The pandemic is taking a psychological toll. Some ideas for change.

So it is true.

A recent study by Inrix, a firm that studies driving and traffic, found that people really are driving more recklessly during the pandemic.

So it wasn’t our imagination. The speeding down residential streets, the light-running and screeching tires. Yep, when upset, even grownups still act out.

And man, are people upset. Most everybody can put up with a certain amount of adversity and inconvenience if they can see a good outcome in the future.

But this hamster wheel of a pandemic, where remembering the day is a 50-50 proposition, has everyone on edge. For a while there were signs everywhere that said, “We’ll get through this . . . together.”

But when will we be “through?” It doesn’t seem like there is an end in sight.

And that’s when pissed-off people start asking questions. Like hey, how come my neighbor’s kid gets to go to school because it is private, but my daughter’s public school is closed? Or I’m a restaurant server who hasn’t worked since March. What am I supposed to do — especially now that I hear the owner has gone broke?

That’s the kind of hopeless anger that got Donald Trump elected.

So what can we do? I have some ideas.

First, let’s face facts. The new vaccines are a wonderful thing. We’re all thrilled.

But it is not even close to the answer — not now and maybe not for a while. The rollout is going waaaaay slower than the Trump people promised.

Their original goal was 100 million doses by the end of the year.

The end of the year is in two days. So far they’ve delivered roughly two million.

So, unless you are a member of Congress (Both Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Marco Rubio have some explaining to do) or an essential medical worker, your vaccine is far off in the future.

So what can be done? Well, Washington just passed another stimulus bill. Fine. But watching that pie-fight couldn’t have filled anyone with confidence in our government. Also, the money for small businesses is just keeping them in a holding pattern. It’s not a solution.

So I’d say concentrate on things that look doable — schools and outdoor dining. Two big changes that could make a lot of difference.

And I would begin by saying something about those parents who are trying to get their kids into school and those restaurant workers who are begging to go back to work. They aren’t crazy. They aren’t zealots or fanatics.

They are everyday people who are saying, “We are hurting. We need this.”

San Francisco City Hall, to its credit, led by Mayor London Breed, have advocated loudly and persistently to find a way to get schools open. Supervisor Catherine Stefani put it well:

“It’s unconscionable that we don’t even have a plan. People all over the world have found ways to continue education safely. What’s the source of the disagreement?”

Of course, she knows the source of the disagreement. The teachers’ union, representing some 6,500, is demanding strict health protocols — beyond what the SF Health Department recommends — that the school district says it cannot comply.

On one level you can see the teachers’ point. They will be on the front lines and at risk for COVID.

But I’d also like to look at the data, which suggests going back to school is not as dangerous as, for example, hosting Thanksgiving dinner at home for 20 people.

Breed said there are “91 private and parochial schools” and “78 learning hubs,” in the city that are open. None, the Mayor said, have reported a positive test.

Conversations with the union should be directed to meeting their needs but also stressing the safety in schools that have re-opened . . . carefully.

If it worked, it would be a huge stress-reliever for the parents. Yes, they’re tired of trying to be at-home-workers and day care providers, but they are genuinely concerned about education and socialization. Done right, reopening is a win-win.

I feel the same way about outdoor dining. When we went out this summer we heard that the parklet option was just barely keeping the restaurant alive. There was a lot at stake. Besides the servers and kitchen crew, the owners may have put every cent they could raise into trying to build a business.

To hear that the ban will probably be extended beyond Jan. 4, has to hit them like a sack of sand. There must be several places that are just tottering on the edge of bankruptcy. This could put them under.

But where is the data that said outdoor dining was the culprit? We often went for a lunch and if anything the places were obsessive about protocols. We scanned the no-touch menu on our phone, servers wore masks and gloves and tables were wiped down as soon as they were vacated.

Was closing down outdoor dining based on “an abundance of caution” or was it really spreading the virus? And, now that the outdoor dining ban in back in place, was there a dip in reported cases? (Keeping in mind the holiday surges skew results.)

The best possible outcome, of course, will be to wipe Coronavirus out. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.

But moving ahead, it would be worthwhile and encouraging, to make these kinds of significant steps that can change this unhappy narrative. It could be a way to show we are on the road toward a brighter future.

I’ll drive.

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The 49ers surprise Arizona — and us. Also “the Kittle effect.”

There really wasn’t much reason to think the 49ers would win last Saturday.

Their record coming in was 5-9, they were already eliminated from the playoffs and, of course, they had a whole new set of injuries to contend with.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals were 8-6, have a hot new QB in Kyler Murray and this was a must-win game. Besides, they beat the Niners already this year, in the first game of the season, which turned out to be a harbinger of the season.

But as I wrote in the 49ers Insider in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat they pulled off the shocker.

It was a nice moment for several of them, like C.J. Beathard, the over-looked third-string quarterback, who threw for three touchdowns. And did it nearly a year to the day since his brother, Clay, died in a stabbing outside a bar.

And Jeff Wilson, who only ran for a total of 105 yards in the regular season last year, carried the ball 22 times for over 180 yards.

There’s more but it is all there in the link.

The one thing I would say is that the pass by Murray in the last five minutes was as poor a throw as you are going to see a professional make. The jury just announced that they are still out on his potential for the future.

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Contact C.W. Nevius at cwnevius@gmail.com. Compliments and suggestions gladly accepted. Complaints not so much. Twitter: @cwnevius