Petrol queues reported now on BBC news

Unfortunately, delivery problems could last more than a few days, so people are going to have to plan when they buy fuel. In my last job, I used to fill up every three or four days. I had a long commute and a small car, which didn't hold much petrol. If I were still doing that job, I'd be on the internet trying to find out where I could guarantee to get petrol and I'd head straight there rather than faffing around trying the nearest petrol stations first. I expect other people would do the same, so certain petrol stations would get busy very quickly.

People can't buy more petrol than they need, unless they have a personal storage depot, but some people do need to buy a lot and they need to buy it regularly. They can't afford to run out on the way to work, so it's sensible to be opportunistic and fill up when fuel is available.

It reminds me of the great toilet roll shortage during the first lockdown. Sheer panic.
I refused to go silly and didn't buy extra.
Guess what - we ran put of toilet rolls and had to borrow from my daughter.

they better do it just in case.

That's being sensible!

PS. My local Tesco petrol station regularly has queues in normal times, especially at the weekend.

My son always keeps an eye on the gauge, and fills up when it gets to a quarter of a tank anyway- he's been taking his brother to college & back (as its a 2bus journey) and uses it to get all 3 of us to medical appts etc, so its essential to us.He topped up this morning, says was no queues or shortage where he usually goes..Didn't we have petrol shortages back in the 1970's?& strikes etc? I was at school then, but remember some things. I think we had 3 day weeks too??

Oh, & power cuts..we survived all that.

ExDancer

It reminds me of the great toilet roll shortage during the first lockdown. Sheer panic.
I refused to go silly and didn't buy extra.
Guess what - we ran put of toilet rolls and had to borrow from my daughter.

It's absolutely nothing like the panic buying of toilet rolls. People need fuel and they can't store it for a rainy day. They didn't need all the toilet rolls which they bought.

Nannan2

Oh, & power cuts..we survived all that.

And?

I'm in Northumberland, all of my local garages had queues. Lots of people here work 30 plus miles away in Newcastle and further, it is a worry.

Yes, queuing in St.Andrews too !

I’ve just returned from Sainsbury’s and it was Bedlam. At first I thought it was a queue for MaccyD’s, but it was for fuel. Got to say, I was on fumes and squeezed £77 worth in my tank, but many looked to be just ‘topping up’ judging by their length of stay.

Filled up before I left Birmingham and while some unleaded pumps were shut, (possibly half) - no queues.

growstuff

Alegrias1

I don't disagree growstuff.

But panicked-sounding people on the radio telling us their livelihoods are at risk and that it's carnage out there just makes it worse and people like Vine should know better. But there's nothing like a good scare story for getting the listeners excited.

There's one petrol station in my town, a Tesco one, and the queues this morning were right round the car park. For nothing. There's no shortages in Scotland. Well there will be now that people have started filling up when they don't need to. I'm really quite annoyed

How do people fill up their cars with petrol they don't need? If they fill up today, they won't need to fill up tomorrow or next week. There's a limit to how much petrol tanks hold. It's really not at all like toilet rolls.

I think it was it in 2000 there were petrol shortages? Anyway I remember the long queues at any petrol station that had fuel and reports of drivers topping up their tanks with as little as 5 litres of petrol. They created a bigger problem and that is panic buying. I wonder how many of those who stockpiled toilet rolls and every other short supply commodity during lockdown will adopt the reasoned fair approach you're expecting?

We have a Shell petrol station in our road, it was quiet (it usually is) first thing this morning, then the presenter on our local radio station told people go out and fill your tanks up, who knows when this will be over and hey ho there are now three queues!!!!!!! One in each direction in the High Road and the other down the side road ???

This is absolutely ridiculous, I do not believe in censoring the media, but flipping heck how about sensible and balanced reporting. Hell no we now have a media driven frenzy which could/almost probably will lead to more shortages.

Just filled up as only a teaspoonful left, and had to wait ages behind a chap filling up not only his car, but a bootful of petrol cans, getting the last drop into each one. Now that is panic buying!!

Wouldn’t it be interesting if tv reporters visited petrol stations and asked to look at the fuel gauges of the queuing cars?
I suspect most of them would be at least a half to three quarters full, in other wise, panic buying.
The driver could then be challenged about why they were contributing to the queues.

Of course it won’t happen.

It shouldn't be allowed B9exchange that's just selfish{angry].

If the point you were making is that it doesn't matter if it's just a handful growstuff then that's what you should have posted, rather than implying that my post was suggesting it didn't matter.

I live in a rural village and we regularly have power cuts, especially during harvest. It's hardly ideal and if it happens of an evening, people have to sit in pitch black for hours. Why would anyone actively want this?

JenniferEccles don’t most people fill their car when it’s half empty anyway though? I thought that was the advice from the motoring organisations - when a diesel engine which is what I have draws in air instead of fuel, both the fuel pump and fuel injectors can become damaged, so you shouldn’t let them run low.

JaneJudge

Do you need a special licence to drive a white van? I'm sure my driving licence says I can drive up so many tons

I presume you passed your test before 1997?
People who have passed since then can't automatically drive vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.

We have a motorhome, which both OH and I are entitled to drive without any change to our old licences .
My step-daughter, 49, could also drive it in theory, but sons of 40 and 38 couldn't without adding another category to their licences. What that would actually entail, I don't know.

Smileless2012

If the point you were making is that it doesn't matter if it's just a handful growstuff then that's what you should have posted, rather than implying that my post was suggesting it didn't matter.

I didn't imply it. That was your misinterpretation.

Oh my days!!!!! words fail me, so much doom and gloom in the news for us all!!!!

B9exchange

Just filled up as only a teaspoonful left, and had to wait ages behind a chap filling up not only his car, but a bootful of petrol cans, getting the last drop into each one. Now that is panic buying!!

Yes, it is and the petrol station should have stopped it.

I had only a teaspoon left on Wednesday, so I half filled the tank on Thursday, as I had a journey planned for today which would take me past a petrol station which is much cheaper than round here. Of course, there were long queues, so I didn’t bother, as I still had plenty for short essential journeys. I shall have to think twice about inessential ones now.

JenniferEccles

Wouldn’t it be interesting if tv reporters visited petrol stations and asked to look at the fuel gauges of the queuing cars?
I suspect most of them would be at least a half to three quarters full, in other wise, panic buying.
The driver could then be challenged about why they were contributing to the queues.

Of course it won’t happen.

If people fill up when they already have three quarters of a tank, they can't be buying that much.