[News] There's no need to panic buy petrol

[B-right-on]

 

[LamieRobertson]

Unworkable. But I do think banning of jerry fans would be an easy start and get rid of a small part of the problem

Never been a fan of Jerry.


Personally I need to fill up a couple of containers for work, so I’d rather they weren’t banned

Ps how’s the coast road as you come down the hill to that Morrisons petrol station …due in that area for work tomorrow

 

[Westdene Seagull]

It just isn't getting better, is it? Honestly it's time for authorities to step in. People weren't taking Covid seriously until a lockdown was imposed, I'm not going that far but if I were in power I'd introduce the following (enforced by police / army depending on manpower, not by the shop staff nobody's going to argue the toss with a guy in fatigues);

1. Limit people to £40 fuel max, no jerry cans or return within 48 hours except in emergency scenario listed in point 5
2. People with more than half a tank of fuel are turned away and told to return when below half a tank
3. Postcode restrictions for people with between 1/4 and 1/2 a tank (i.e. people in BN3 cannot fill up in BN6 except in emergency scenario listed in point 5)
4. Priority is given based on key worker status then by fuel level
5. In emergency situation where fuel gauge is in red / fuel light on previous restrictions do not apply

It would only need to be short term to get the situation back under control and prevent people touring the place then topping up their little bit of fuel while key workers and other locals go without.

Most of your points I agree with but point 3 is daft. Many people have to travel quite some distance for work ( or indeed travel around for work ). I used to work in Havant. Yesterday I drove passed 4 petrol stations within a stones throw of home and all were shut. If I needed fuel I should be able to buy it ( although a restricted amount ) anywhere along my route to work.*

* Not that I much currently care as I'm on a six month sabbatical.

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

It just isn't getting better, is it? Honestly it's time for authorities to step in. People weren't taking Covid seriously until a lockdown was imposed, I'm not going that far but if I were in power I'd introduce the following (enforced by police / army depending on manpower, not by the shop staff nobody's going to argue the toss with a guy in fatigues);

Welcome too 1984

1. Limit people to £40 fuel max, no jerry cans or return within 48 hours except in emergency scenario listed in point 5.

Lorry drivers themselves, tradesmen, reps, the list goes on....

2. People with more than half a tank of fuel are turned away and told to return when below half a tank
3. Postcode restrictions for people with between 1/4 and 1/2 a tank (i.e. people in BN3 cannot fill up in BN6 except in emergency scenario listed in point 5)

Simply unworkable, people will borrow id, idiots will still queue and argue the toss at the point of no return.

4. Priority is given based on key worker status then by fuel level

Damn right, this should have been implemented from probably day 1.

It would only need to be short term to get the situation back under control

That's how it starts.....

 

[BrightonCottager]

HGV drivers can earn 50k from what I read. Are you saying fuel tanker drivers are paid considerably less than this ? If so, then those Government Ministers and commentators are correct.

No, I'm saying Government Ministers are hypocrites. Who knew?

 

[Uter]

Most of your points I agree with but point 3 is daft. Many people have to travel quite some distance for work ( or indeed travel around for work ). I used to work in Havant. Yesterday I drove passed 4 petrol stations within a stones throw of home and all were shut. If I needed fuel I should be able to buy it ( although a restricted amount ) anywhere along my route to work.*

* Not that I much currently care as I'm on a six month sabbatical.

Yeah. Some postcodes will have multiple petrol stations, others will have none.

It would help if people just used their cars a bit more sensibly to dampen demand and make their tanks last longer. However traffic was as bad as ever this morning so no sign of that. I clocked one of my daughters classmates being dropped off as usual this morning. They live under 800m from the school.

 

[A1X]

Most of your points I agree with but point 3 is daft. Many people have to travel quite some distance for work ( or indeed travel around for work ). I used to work in Havant. Yesterday I drove passed 4 petrol stations within a stones throw of home and all were shut. If I needed fuel I should be able to buy it ( although a restricted amount ) anywhere along my route to work.*

* Not that I much currently care as I'm on a six month sabbatical.

The point being if you needed to you would be able to. What it would stop would be people travelling from town to town in Sussex filling up miniscule amounts and taking up space in queues and on forecourts which in turn denies the local residents of that area the opportunity to get fuel for themselves. These morons following tankers around, for example.

 

[A1X]

Welcome too 1984



Lorry drivers themselves, tradesmen, reps, the list goes on....



Simply unworkable, people will borrow id, idiots will still queue and argue the toss at the point of no return.



Damn right, this should have been implemented from probably day 1.



That's how it starts.....

This post would make a lot more sense if we hadn't just had an example of something which required an urgent fix which meant short term measures enforced by law.

 

[Bry Nylon]

By this evening, this fuel situation will have been going on for one week.

My first inkling of this fuel-panic was last Thursday night when I read the OP on this thread and I freely admit I believed it would be all over by the time the opening titles rolled for 'Countryfile' on Sunday evening. More fool me; given the panic-buying and hoarding at the the beginning of the pandemic, I should have known better than to underestimate our collective capacity as a country for turning perfectly manageable situations into unending cluster****s by applying the principle of 'every man for himself.'

So I have revised my forecast and reckon we will coming out of this by the end of THIS weekend. (I guess it should be noted that in parts of the country where people appear to be made of sterner stuff or act with a little more sense of collective responsibility, there are no fuel queues. Who'd have thought?).

 

[Fitzcarraldo]

It just isn't getting better, is it? Honestly it's time for authorities to step in. People weren't taking Covid seriously until a lockdown was imposed, I'm not going that far but if I were in power I'd introduce the following (enforced by police / army depending on manpower, not by the shop staff nobody's going to argue the toss with a guy in fatigues);

1. Limit people to £40 fuel max, no jerry cans or return within 48 hours except in emergency scenario listed in point 5
2. People with more than half a tank of fuel are turned away and told to return when below half a tank
3. Postcode restrictions for people with between 1/4 and 1/2 a tank (i.e. people in BN3 cannot fill up in BN6 except in emergency scenario listed in point 5)
4. Priority is given based on key worker status then by fuel level
5. In emergency situation where fuel gauge is in red / fuel light on previous restrictions do not apply

It would only need to be short term to get the situation back under control and prevent people touring the place then topping up their little bit of fuel while key workers and other locals go without.

Not sure a machine gun pit in every forecourt, waiting to mow down anyone who spends £41 on some petrol, is the best solution

 

[zefarelly]

Are we now in the grip of the serial "topper-uppers" who's selfishness is preventing things from stabilising?

I haven't been near a fuel station since the middle of last week as I had enough to get by and hoped it would all blow over by the beginning of this week, plus I had no interest in being part of the problem when I had no cause to be. But I am now down to >50 miles and fear that I will need this just to undertake a search for somewhere I can actually get some fuel.

I have to go to the Cotswolds this weekend because as a family we will finally be holding a wake for my father. He died just before Christmas but covid restrictions in place at the time meant we could only hold a basic funeral and no gathering afterwards. This is our first opportunity to get everybody together since so that we may remember my dad. So if I finally manage to get fuel and find that person in front of me has put in less than a tenner, god help them.

Exactly the same here. . .have filled one scooter from 3 for todays work run . . . will be pumping the Cortina dry for another scooter run tomorrow and hopefully get some fuel over the weekend. . . was hoping it would have calmed by now

hope its a good belated wake. There's a few I know of that haven't happened.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Stopping Jerry cans will stop a lot of people working.

 

[Fitzcarraldo]

So I have revised my forecast and reckon we will coming out of this by the end of THIS weekend. (I guess it should be noted that in parts of the country where people appear to be made of sterner stuff or act with a little more sense of collective responsibility, there are no fuel queues. Who'd have thought?).

What are the parts of the country you are referring to? Would be interested to see if the areas with no queues correlate with areas of low population density rather than 'people being made of sterner stuff'.

 

[zefarelly]

Stopping Jerry cans will stop a lot of people working.

I have to refuel the scooter every day for a 55 mile round trip, tanks not big enough for 2 days. so I keep a 20L can premixed with oil at home. Suffice to say thats bone dry. as is the race car spare can.

 

[zefarelly]

What are the parts of the country you are referring to? Would be interested to see if the areas with no queues correlate with areas of low population density rather than 'people being made of sterner stuff'.

I'm sure other parts of the country have a lower proportion of selfish impatient cockjugglers. Sussex has got very special in places.

 

[Bry Nylon]

What are the parts of the country you are referring to? Would be interested to see if the areas with no queues correlate with areas of low population density rather than 'people being made of sterner stuff'.

Well, the ones I have heard of specifically are the north east and Northern Ireland - so there may be something you say with regard to population density. However, the major fuel retailers and supermarkets balance their forecourt portfolio with demand / population so there will be far more fuel stations in London and the south east than in other parts of the country.

[In the context of this (largely) self-inflicted crisis, the phrase 'population density' is an interesting concept with more than one available interpretation].

 

[Rugrat]

Never been a fan of Jerry.


Personally I need to fill up a couple of containers for work, so I’d rather they weren’t banned

Ps how’s the coast road as you come down the hill to that Morrisons petrol station …due in that area for work tomorrow

Ooops!

Yes, that would be problematic but the vast majority of people filling cans are simply hoarding I'm sure.

It was chaos yesterday morning after they got a delivery but as it sold out in the afternoon (as I understand, I've not been close since) then I assume all clear now

 

[beorhthelm]

What are the parts of the country you are referring to? Would be interested to see if the areas with no queues correlate with areas of low population density rather than 'people being made of sterner stuff'.

i expect they'll correlate with being further away from the depot having industrial dispute, which is at Hamble (Solent).

 

[sparkie]

Well, the ones I have heard of specifically are the north east and Northern Ireland - so there may be something you say with regard to population density. However, the major fuel retailers and supermarkets balance their forecourt portfolio with demand / population so there will be far more fuel stations in London and the south east than in other parts of the country.

[In the context of this (largely) self-inflicted crisis, the phrase 'population density' is an interesting concept with more than one available interpretation].

Hmmmm.

Northern Ireland you say ?

That place with the best Brexit deal in the UK.

It does make me wonder...

 

[Rugrat]

By this evening, this fuel situation will have been going on for one week.

My first inkling of this fuel-panic was last Thursday night when I read the OP on this thread and I freely admit I believed it would be all over by the time the opening titles rolled for 'Countryfile' on Sunday evening. More fool me; given the panic-buying and hoarding at the the beginning of the pandemic, I should have known better than to underestimate our collective capacity as a country for turning perfectly manageable situations into unending cluster****s by applying the principle of 'every man for himself.'

So I have revised my forecast and reckon we will coming out of this by the end of THIS weekend. (I guess it should be noted that in parts of the country where people appear to be made of sterner stuff or act with a little more sense of collective responsibility, there are no fuel queues. Who'd have thought?).

Will be interesting to see your next estimate after the weekend