Have you bought petrol today when you wouldn't normally have?

[GreatPotato]

The BP petrol station here is closed and every other garage has queues on to the road.

I'll admit I did think I'd get petrol when I was out today. I have half a tank and I do generally keep it topped up for emergencies, although I would probably have left it until next week to fill up normally.

In the event, I didn't bother queuing but I'm guessing most of the people "panicking' are just filling up a few days earlier than they usually would. After all, a tank only holds so much, it's not as if you can buy a year's supply like toilet rolls

@Djifunrsn, I don't think there is a 100,000 shortage of HGV drivers either.

But I reckon everyone is relying on home deliveries, there are probably some shortages and maybe not just fuel.

Gah I'm so annoyed. I'm low in my car and noticed the other day but procrastinated. Now look at this chaos!
I'd walk if I didn't need a car to get to my patients at work 🤬

Nope. Still got 3/4 of a tank and I only need to drive for groceries etc so this will last me ages and hopefully normality will be back well before I need to fill up again. I would usually fill up at this point - I don’t generally let it go much below 3/4 full but given the queues I can easily wait till after the fuss is over!

[quote YogaLite]@Djifunrsn, I don't think there is a 100,000 shortage of HGV drivers either.

But I reckon everyone is relying on home deliveries, there are probably some shortages and maybe not just fuel.[/quote]
www.bbc.co.uk/news/57810729.amp

There has been a shortage of lorry drivers for years - an aging workforce, poor pay and conditions. Brexit has increased the problem to where are now where it is affecting supply chains.

lots of petrol stations closed here to tonight but all through panic buying not a shortage. We've got half a tank of petrol and will walk short journeys. hoping it will blow over. I think a lot of the petrol stations are being refuelled tonight

I've been on fumes for a week and procrastinating. I did do it, but only because dh is away next week and I might need my car rather than his, which does have a full tank.
Annoyingly I do very few Miles and probably wouldn't need to fill again until December, I just couldn't be arsed on Monday. That will teach me.

I filled up on Thursday morning, before this hype began. Like i always do on payday. £60 which will last 2 weeks.

Passed garages yesterday, no queues.

My DP has luckily managed to fill up today because he's taking his disabled client on holiday for a few days tomorrow. If he couldn't get fuel the holiday would have had to be cancelled and I'd be stuck with him during my holiday from work longer than I want

My DD (who lives 20 miles away) contacted me this morning, and said she went to fill up at the big Tesco 2 miles from her at 10am, and she waited 10 minutes that's all. Said it wasn't any worse than any typical Saturday morning at the big retail park where the Tesco is. Seems like it's calming down already...

I walked past a garage this morning while it actually received a delivery. I carried on walking and the queue was about a quarter of a mile long. DH just came back past the same garage and is already closed with a sign saying no fuel. According to local social media groups, none if the local garages have any fuel.

I’m figuring that once all the selfish dickheads have filled up they can’t actually keep going back so by the middle of next week I’ll be able to go and get my usual top up with no issues. It’s not like toilet rolls where people could just keep on buying - petrol can’t be stored under the bed or in the loft!

I normally fill up just after payday (yesterday) but I was running low earlier this week so put £20 of diesel in on Weds and was going to fill up either this weekend or early next week but after seeing the carnage decided to leave it. I’ve got half a tank that will last me probably a couple of weeks so I’m good.
DP was also running low but managed to fill up yesterday, he does more miles than me so will probably need to fill up again in a couple of weeks - fingers crossed the situation is a better by then.

Actually the opposite. I normally would have filled up today as it's payday weekend but didnt.

Fortunately on Monday, I decided to fill up to the top rather than just the amount I needed for my journey.

Since I live within walking distance of everything I could possibly need, it will stay there until my nephew arrives so I can visit.

@Franklin12

I worked at a supermarket during toilet roll gate…

Most people always had a reason why they needed to get more than normal. 50% of people used to say that didn’t have a sheet left, others said they were buying fair others. Some would come in separately so they could get their ‘allowance’.

Bit like this thread really. The amount of people stating they were driving on fumes sounds like an excuse to fill your boots and stuff anyone else.

Just like toilet gate I am afraid.

I never fill up till I'm on fumes. I'm old enough to remember when a nice man on the forecourt filled up the car for you and I would love that to come back. I have an irrational hatred of petrol stations and I figure over time I've saved alot of unnecessary visits by filling up less often. My husband is the opporiste, if the gauge gets anywhere near half he starts looking for a petrol station. I don't think his car has ever been on red.

I haven't bothered. My car runs on diesel, and there just isn't any locally. Every time someone on fb says 'there's some at ' someone else says 'not any more there isn't'
I'm on red now, but I'm lucky enough to be able to work from home for the next two days, so I'm waiting to see how it pans out. We still have to get the kids to the train station twice a day, but DH has enough petrol in the tank in his car for those short runs.

No but I have 1/3 of a tank and don't technically need to be anywhere more than 3 miles away for the next 10 days.

Nope. And I won't be out with the Jerry cans either.

I did. I normally would have filled up on Wednesday. My youngest is booked in for an operation on Thursday.

I passed the garage just after they opened this morning on the way back from A&E and there was no queue. Last night when MIL was coming home the queue was almost a mile long and they closed early so I filled up and will avoid it during the week.

DD has been waiting months for this operation so I didn't want to take the risk. Which makes me as bad as the other panic buyers I know, but I don't want to risk it as it could make a huge difference to all our lives.

I'd not normally fill up with a full tank but I must confess that I was queuing at our local Tesco at 5.45 am waiting for it it to open at 6am yesterday. I use my car for work & given that I used 52 miles in Friday & only had 26 miles left I can't afford to take chances as there's every chance I could get through a full tank in a week.

I barely made it to the 4th petrol station which THANKFULLY had petrol. I'd have been snookered if they had none left.

The fact there was a massive queue when there wouldn't usually be means that people are still panic buying it. People are crazy!

@ncmcr

I barely made it to the 4th petrol station which THANKFULLY had petrol. I'd have been snookered if they had none left.

The fact there was a massive queue when there wouldn't usually be means that people are still panic buying it. People are crazy!

Maybe the people in the queue are exactly the same as you - snookered if they don't get fuel this evening?

Unless they filled up when this chaos started on Friday and have been driving around enough to use a whole tank, I would imagine they are NOT the panic buyers, but the people who have waited as long as possible to see if it would die down before the end of the weekend.

I am very low on fuel, but I WFH, son gets school transport, I can cycle to the swimming pool, so I'm OK tomorrow. I hope I can get some diesel tomorrow or Tuesday in the day because my son has football in the evening. Oh I will struggle to get my click and collect groceries on my bike though!

No filled up Thursday pm before the story broke. I didn't have enough for the university drop off. I always run my tank down then fill up to the top

I haven't filled up yet. I've got half a tank. I will need to fill up later this week.

I'm driving 140 miles round trip to the lakes this weekend.

I'm working from home this week but have to do 2 x 65 mile round trips next week for work.

I'm hoping it's all died down by later this week / this coming weekend / early next week. I can get to the lakes and back on half a tank but then I wouldn't be able to do my work trips next week if I can't get fuel. Hopefully I won't have to cancel the lakes trip to preserve my fuel for the work trips.

@SantiagoSky

Now is the time for an electric car...

Wait til the rolling black outs start! We are already on a knife edge as far as electricity supplies go.

I love rurally in the south west and have just driven to 6 petrol station who are all out of fuel. DH has to drive up north tomorrow to be best man at a wedding. The poor couple have already postponed the wedding twice because of Covid and now there's a real possibility people won't be able to get enough fuel to make it.