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

[Neville's Breakfast]

All the media stuff I've seen shouldn't be encouraging people to panic buy, in fact they have been explicitly saying there is no need to panic buy.

Unless you are going to ban the media for presenting facts (some garages are running out of fuel primarily due to a lack of delivery drivers, but there is no shortage and you don't need to panic buy), then I don't know what you can do.

They gave too much prominence to a non story to feed the ongoing story about a lack of lorry drivers. They did not give enough emphasis to the very small number of pumps that were inactive. When you do that it doesn’t matter if you add that people shouldn’t panic buy.It’s too late. They did not think through the consequences. People can’t constantly go on about media agendas only when they have the opposite politics. It works both ways.

 

[Geoffbn2]

The press and social media really do a good job of directing all the sheep to follow whatever the latest panic is... I was a petrol station manager when the farmers and truckers blocked the fuel terminals in 2002/2003, The panic buying then was just like now, at the time i had massive underground tanks and due to being a government emergency fuel station and we actually never ran dry although i did have to close the forecourt to the public for 3 or 4 days allowing just emergency workers, hospital staff and emergency vehicles to fill up. I was then the first petrol station in Brighton to get refilled having 5 tankers in 1 day (3 overnight with police escorts). It was bedlam when we opened the forecourt at 8am that morning, people squabbling and being dicks to each other and my staff. As with most shortages they only really last a few days and if people act sensibly and carry on as normal 95% of the population would be unaffected but no everyone becomes a selfish dick so those who really need whatever is running short find themselves without due to most people hoarding for no good reason.

 

[nickbrighton]

Sadly there IS A FUEL SHORTAGE now! Thanks to the panic buying. 3/3 petrol stations I passed about 9.15 this morning were closed, coned off and with " Out of Use " plastic covers on the nozzles. I passed two garages this afternoon that had fuel but massive tailbacks.

So, if there were minor supply issues yesterday there are major supply issues today. A tanker driver can only do so many drops a day and they were already slowly falling behind demand before this new fiasco.

which is exactly my point, without the BBC seemingly starting the panic, barley anyone would have come across a closed petrol station, and those that did would have simply gone to the next one. Now of course it will take a week for this to die down, once cars are full of petrol then all of a sudden those who only use a small amount a week wont have to fill up for ages, bit like toilet rolls, you can only use what you normally use, so the queues will die down and the muppets will find something else to panic over and be able to scream Brexit/Covid/Torries or whatever else their deluded minds come up with

 

[s5.bha]

Got in to go to work this morning and the light was on , remembered I had to take daughter to the airport at 4.30am Saturday morning so filled up to the brim.

£44.69………….. bet other drivers are not laughing at my Suzuki Wagon R now !!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pb21]

They gave too much prominence to a non story to feed the ongoing story about a lack of lorry drivers. They did not give enough emphasis to the very small number of pumps that were inactive. When you do that it doesn’t matter if you add that people shouldn’t panic buy.It’s too late. They did not think through the consequences. People can’t constantly go on about media agendas only when they have the opposite politics. It works both ways.

IMO the media has given sufficient prominence about the lack of lorry drivers, very small number of pumps that are/were inactive and that people shouldn’t panic buy. It was so prominent that I heard it and understood it.

I suppose, despite making the above clear and obvious (at least to me, and I would assume others), if it was inevitable that people would start to panic buy then maybe the media shouldn't have reported this in the first place.

 

[bluenitsuj]

Plenty of wankers panick buying at the last 2 petrol stations i drove past.

 

[drew]

It is indeed sensationalised, and it has indeed led to people panic-buying fuel - BUT the fuel supply had already started to run out before the headlines were published because of logistics problems, and it is a problem that, if not necessarily of this government's making, certainly one that they have appeared to ignore until now. I posted earlier on this thread the first couple of paragraphs from the FT's article about impending problems due to a shortage of lorry drivers, an article published on the 9th May this year https://www.ft.com/content/4d6b3be1-...5-91da326cabdc

"An exodus of EU lorry drivers from the UK since Brexit has left the British haulage and logistics industry facing an acute staff shortage and a looming crisis for industrial and retail deliveries, the sector has warned.

Industry associations and leading UK freight companies said that unless urgent steps were taken to address shortages, strains now visible within the industry would become evident to the public by the end of the summer."

Read that last line again - this has been on the radar of those who can do something about it for over four months. And yet it is only today, after supplies are running out and people are queuing round the block for petrol, that the Transport Minister announces all these new measures to speed up testing for HGV drivers.

If they'd actually done their job, responded to the calls in the spring from industry associations and freight companies to do something about it, then maybe we wouldn't have these shortages today, and hence wouldn't have these headlines in the papers.

I think what the government thought would happen was that 100,000 ballerinas would come to the UK and in between shows do a bit of haulage work. Unfortunately that prophecy didn't materialise.

 

[Dick Swiveller]

Love the suggestion that everyone buying fuel at the moment is panic buying. Especially love the ones on Twitter claiming they can't get any because other people are buying it. Obviously some people are being dicks and brimming but probably most are people who would have bought today anyway or would have had to fill up in the next few days and if they don't get it now, might struggle to get to work. Not the same as buying dozens of toilet rolls to put in the spare room.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

IMO the media has given sufficient prominence about the lack of lorry drivers, very small number of pumps that are/were inactive and that people shouldn’t panic buy. It was so prominent that I heard it and understood it.

I suppose, despite making the above clear and obvious (at least to me, and I would assume others), if it was inevitable that people would start to panic buy then maybe the media shouldn't have reported this in the first place.

So what changed yesterday to justify the prominence of the reporting about petrol ? The consequences of yesterday’s BBC story were obvious. It was the first thing I thought of. They fanned the flames and are now shrugging their shoulders saying ‘not me gov.’ Looks to me like this was an opportunity to keep the story alive. I can’t help thinking that if this wasn’t a lorry drivers returning to the EU story then the story would have been reported differently.

 

[KeegansHairPiece]

West Hove Sainsbury's petrol station completely shut. Queues at petrol stations everywhere blocking roundabouts and surrounding roads. Not a good afternoon to be on the road in a motorvehicle. Lovely night for a bike ride though. So every cloud.

 

[Ludensian Gull]

Plenty of wankers panick buying at the last 2 petrol stations i drove past.

Not all wankers though are they. I certainly don't class myself as one but only had 52 miles left in tank this morning ,knowing I have3 trips to Ipswich hospital over the next 4 days. Normally I'd fill up on way in on Sunday but obviously couldn't risk it so joined the queue along with all the others who probably also had valid reasons.

 

[Berty23]

People are saying “there is no petrol shortage” are quoting the government. When over the last few months did the government do something that proved them trustworthy? Some corkers. “Schools won’t shut” then next day they did for two months. “The shortage of truck drivers is nothing to do with brexit” then the next day visas to be relaxed for truck drivers (even though we were told that all of EU has same issue)

So it seems bizarre that people would not go and panic buy because people just don’t trust the government to tell the truth. Even those who defend them non stop don’t trust them and are probably panic buying too.

Sadly if you base a government on lies and spin then eventually it comes back to bite you. If only Aesop had written a fable about a boy who cried wolf.

 

[Berty23]

Not all wankers though are they. I certainly don't class myself as one but only had 52 miles left in tank this morning ,knowing I have3 trips to Ipswich hospital over the next 4 days. Normally I'd fill up on way in on Sunday but obviously couldn't risk it so joined the queue along with all the others who probably also had valid reasons.

Exactly. My wife is a teacher. On the way home last night her warning light came on so she joined a queue and bought some. Not everyone is brimming.

 

[Fat Boy Fat]

Got in to go to work this morning and the light was on , remembered I had to take daughter to the airport at 4.30am Saturday morning so filled up to the brim.

£44.69………….. bet other drivers are not laughing at my Suzuki Wagon R now !!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bet they are, but we'll done

 

[Ludensian Gull]

Exactly. My wife is a teacher. On the way home last night her warning light came on so she joined a queue and bought some. Not everyone is brimming.

Exactly, admittedly I shouldn't get that low but hey old habits die hard .

 

[WhingForPresident]

Got a nice four hour round trip to Luton Airport tomorrow and a two hour round trip to my lad's football match on Sunday. I've got quarter of a tank and both the petrol stations here are shut. Going to be interesting

 

[Bozza]

Just did an 11-mile Tour de Petrol Stations run (on foot) around Worthing...

Esso, Arundel Road - open with a short queue
Tesco, Durrington - open with a long queue
Harvest, Goring - open with a long queue
Co-op Durrington - open with a long queue
Esso/Tesco, North Star - out of fuel
Shell, Broadwater - out of fuel
Jet, A24 - out of fuel
BP/M&S, Findon - out of fuel

 

[beorhthelm]

All the media stuff I've seen shouldn't be encouraging people to panic buy, in fact they have been explicitly saying there is no need to panic buy.

Unless you are going to ban the media for presenting facts (some garages are running out of fuel primarily due to a lack of delivery drivers, but there is no shortage and you don't need to panic buy), then I don't know what you can do.

some facts dont need to be shared. the "fact" was BP said they had a handful (their words) of forecourts close due to lorry driver shortage. BBC ran the story as a petrol shortage, because of lorry driver shortage, a handfull of forecourts closed. do you see the difference and impact? they shouldnt be allowed to report like that, and when they know the likely response, not report the issue at all. then the tabloids go to work and we have media induced panic is guaranteed.

encourage everyone to write to their MP for change to law that media may not report on speculation or local supply shortages at national level. it doesnt have any anything positive and leads to massively negative outcomes every time.

 

[Ludensian Gull]

The problem is, a lot of them are panic buying wankers. If only the people that needed fuel got fuel, then there wouldn't be an issue here.

There will be people who have half a tank and are sitting in queues just in case it runs out.

Many of these people will be filling up their tanks, rather than just sticking a tenner in, further exacerbating the issue.

I desperately need fuel to get to work - not in red at the moment but not far from it - so why aren't I sitting in a queue for fuel?

Two reasons for me:

a) Chances are by tomorrow following a new set of deliveries, there won't be such a mess.
b) If I did sit in a queue, I'd be adding to the ****ing problem.

People really need to ask themselves "Do I really need fuel today?" If the answer is no, they shouldn't be sitting in a ****ing queue for fuel.

So what do you suggest I do ? Mrs has already had operation cancelled twice,leave it till tomorrow hoping there's some left ? F@#k that, I'll join the queue .

 

[Driver8]

My brother and sister in law are supposed to be coming to see us in North Wales for a week tomorrow and now don’t know if they can come because of the ****wits panic buying all the diesel.

Twats.