Trapped by traffic, anyone else?

Our town is gridlocked most of the time, what with major roadworks and temporary traffic lights all over the place, there is nowhere to go.
Add to that the petrol station queues, it has become impossible to get anywhere.

Seen on Facebook this morning.
Wanted 2 gallons of diesel, willing to swap for a Dr’s appointment. !!

annsixty ? on our local Nextdoor site someone is selling 2 cans of petrol to highest bidder its disgusting.

My friend's son is a doctor and can't get any petrol to go to work, he had to use the last of it to get his car MOT'd. Lockdown has truly highlighted the selfish and stupid in society.

Annsixty Thanks, I needed a smile.

We have had the water main burst in four separate places in my road over the last three weeks. Chaos for days on end with temporary lights etc. We had horrendous queues for the filling station on Friday and then again Saturday afternoon after they had a delivery.

One of the consequences of living on a main road, after 33 years we are immune to traffic issues. It’s also a hill so winter ice and snow makes for interesting (but scary) views.

The main road out of our valley runs past the one and only petrol station. After a few early hiccups and traffic jams, I cannot fault the service station staff for the way in which they came out to direct the traffic and put up signs. Now all very organised and running smoothly, if more slowly.

Yep. I am supposed to be somewhere right now but the roads were gridlocked by petrol queues so I came home. All I was doing was burning the quarter tank I still have getting nowhere fast. Can't even take the bus as it's the same route and jammed. Same for getting to the station to take a train. More importantly it's the only road to the hospital, the main A&E for a huge area. I don't blame people. They need petrol for work. I was just visiting someone and it can wait but it's emergency services I worry about and people needing to get to important appointments. Believe it or not, while I was stuck in the queue, a big 4x4 a few cars back, mounted the pavement and drove about 200 metres along the pavement it to get to his turn off. It's making people reckless.

I must live in the most civilised place in Britain.

Went out for coffee today, no holds ups anywhere.
Drove by the Tesco Express on the way home. A couple of cars by the pumps so called in.
Man filling up his car in front of me. Got out to get my bag from the boot.

Hello
Hello
Weathers a bit better today
Yes, yesterday was awful.
I’ve just got to go in and get milk. I’ll be quick.
No problem. I’m not in a hurry.

Filled up. One car behind me.

Drove off.

Or perhaps I’m still asleep and dreaming????‍♂️

Our main town in Hertford is bad enough, it wasn't designed for the volume of traffic that passes through on the way to somewhere else and is regularly congested, but the outlying part where I live is diabolical. It used to be a separate village many moons ago and the roads leading to it were meant for sheep and cattle, not cars and lorries! What we really need for the whole town is a bypass, but that has been mooted for donkeys' years well before we came to live here and nothing has happened yet. We are also at the top of a very steep hill and in winter the gritting lorries can't get to us so it is doubly hazardous. And now the petrol situation! There is no local petrol station, thank goodness, but the nearest ones about 5 miles away are both on roundabouts and the queues are making any trip very dangerous as they all tail back onto very busy roundabouts and A roads. I think I'll hibernate with Joey the tortoise until it's all over......

Just heard that the filling station in our road has got extra forecourt staff, and a dedicated lane for blue light vehicles along with emergency workers, medics etc., (have to show ID)

I’m am hoping to go to my GS and family for dinner on Thursday but every route to his house 20 mins away has numerous petrol stations and plenty of roundabouts can’t say I’m looking forward to that journey. Sounds like I’m not the only one with problems I might cancel if things haven’t improved.

We live on a main road that goes to a school and today it was noticeably less cars on the school run and a great many more walking. Me, I am out on my electric bike doing my shopping etc.

I can't understand why they allow containers to be filled in a crisis, nearest Asda in this area allowed somebody to fill 10 containers, while queues built up all around.

Thinking of the emergency vehicles, wouldn’t it make sense for ambulance and fire stations to have their own fuel pumps?
Growing up on a farm we had a red diesel pump for the tractors, as far as I remember the underground tank was filled up from a tanker which my father ordered when needed.

Well, this should show up whether or not all the trouble and expense of installing cycle lanes is worthwhile. Why are the roads not jammed with cyclists instead of all the queues at the petrol pumps? The government and petrol bosses should never have mentioned anything about shortage of tanker drivers and we would have just plowed on thinking petrol stations were being a bit slow at refuelling.

HannahLois
I know of at least 2 cars that are running around on red diesel.

I have enough fuel for 12 miles, I cannot risk driving to my nearest town (9 miles) for fuel - the next nearest is 16 miles ??‍♀️ so what the hell do I do? My nearest town has some fuel at one petrol station, non at the other 4.
All I do know is that we’re definitely moving now. Living rurally may be beautiful but it’s just not worth the worry.

BlueBalou be careful what you wish for I'm in London suburbs and today i can't leave the house to go anywhere due to queues I've cancelled dinner out. How much longer?

The filling station in my road only had about 6-8 cars queuing this morning, things appear to be settling down.

I regularly get trapped in my home, or am unable to get back to it, as I live by a primary school in a road which is a cul-de-sac! At least now I'm retired I can plan ahead when to go out and come back, though I still sometimes forget and get caught out. You'd think I'd have learnt by now after living here 18years!

Having walked everywhere to save my diesel, I've just had to do a twelve mile round trip to take a poorly wood pigeon to the vets. I rang the closest vet to see if they could help - got an answering machine message 'sorry we can't answer at the moment, send us an email'? Glad I'm not with them.

I'm glad I still have half a tank, I have run out in the past because of a faulty gauge on a really dangerous fast country road. I'd picked up a hitchhiker, she wasn't happy!

Put fuel in my bike on Sunday. I have to use E5 as she is a 'mature' model, like her owner.
I was horrified at the price: it was £1.49 a litre, much more than a few weeks ago. It used to cost me about a tenner for fuel for her, this time it was just short of 15 quid - a 50% increase. Someone is profiteering methinks......

Gridlocked in our village again when I went to the chemist, social media again!
I voluntary drive, with others, a couple of our drivers are down to their last 30 miles, this may mean not providing hospital lifts.