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Original poster

I don't understand why Police aren't organising the traffic

43 replies

GreatPotato · 28/09/2021 08:18

A lot of the chaos here is caused by queues from the petrol stations blocking the main roads.

Two bus routes have announced they're not running today because they can't get through and a large proportion of staff at the school I work at are running late, not because they don't have fuel but because it's gridlock around every petrol station. How can that just be left?

Local police have actually put out a message about how outrageous it is that people are wasting their time calling about traffic disruption.

I know they'll say lack of resources etc, but they seemed to have the resources to break up picnics. Surely this is exactly what police time should be used for in a crisis?

OP posts:

Shurl · 28/09/2021 08:26

Where are you? I haven't seen any major traffic disruption at all, apart from a few queues Saturday morning. They didn't block the road though

Spiindoctor · 28/09/2021 08:28

It's usually that the people annoying you aren't breaking the law.
Is it breaking the law to queue for something in your car. probably not. So they can't bring in the equipment to forcibly move you off the road.

Comedycook · 28/09/2021 08:29

Yanbu. The only open petrol station to me is absolute carnage. I'm surprised there's been no accident yet...people getting angry, banging on windows, driving on the wrong side of the road and the pavement. It's so dangerous.

Original poster

GreatPotato · 28/09/2021 08:30

@Spiindoctor

It's usually that the people annoying you aren't breaking the law. Is it breaking the law to queue for something in your car. probably not. So they can't bring in the equipment to forcibly move you off the road.

Police direct traffic that isn't breaking the law all the time?

OP posts:

Original poster

GreatPotato · 28/09/2021 08:32

@Shurl

Where are you? I haven't seen any major traffic disruption at all, apart from a few queues Saturday morning. They didn't block the road though

South East but let's not have "I haven't seen it so it can't be happening"

I haven't made up bus companies Tweeting that they can't get through and have had to cancel routes.

OP posts:

SoupDragon · 28/09/2021 08:33

The police can't win.

"Why are you out directing traffic when you should be solving crimes?!" V "Why aren't you out directing traffic?!"

Spiindoctor · 28/09/2021 08:36

Can the police force someone with 0 petrol to move on? Which is what everyone will claim. But eventually I would think they'll turn up if it gets that bad.

Returnoftheowl · 28/09/2021 08:38

@SoupDragon

The police can't win.

"Why are you out directing traffic when you should be solving crimes?!" V "Why aren't you out directing traffic?!"

Absolutely this!

AlexaShutUp · 28/09/2021 08:41

Our town was in gridlock yesterday too. I am not sure how much the police could help though. They can't force people to stop queuing, and I'm not sure that directing the traffic would fix it.

People were being pretty sensible here, trying to let non petrol station traffic pass etc. The problem was simply the volume of cars queuing for fuel.

CovoidOfAllHumanity · 28/09/2021 08:42

It's that bad around here (also South East)
I have to drive for NHS work doing home visits and it is really reducing my efficiency and ability to do my job which is the last thing I need right now.

I have half a tank and just not making g any non essential journeys and praying that things ease off before I need to refill.

It's hard to get anywhere because every route has a crazy petrol station queue. I drove past (in the opposite direction) a huge queue of people queuing for a petrol station that was actually shut. People were just queuing for ages getting there, driving through and out again but I guess the people at the back didn't know that and kept joining the back of the queue like lemmings. Surely that's the kind of thing where the police should move people on.

ApolloandDaphne · 28/09/2021 08:42

I haven't seen this either. It must be fair isolated. I drove yesterday from Leeds to Scotland. I managed to fill up as a left and I topped up again near home. No garages I was in or passed had massive, disruptive queues and I passed many on the way home. I don't think using the police to stop people queuing for fuel is the best use of their time. People need to just calm down a bit.

CovoidOfAllHumanity · 28/09/2021 08:46

On another occasion there was a huge tailback blocking one side of the road to the petrol station and anyone just trying to go about their business could not get past as they couldn't see if anyone was coming in the opposite direction to overtake. This included 2 buses.

People were getting frustrated and just steaming up the opposite side of the road to overtake the queue without being able to see. Accident waiting to happen.

If the police had directed that traffic ie temporarily stopped people on the other side and let people past that would have been safer and better for everyone

InpatientGardener · 28/09/2021 08:46

YANBU, I live in an already gridlocked at the best of times town in the SE and its just carnage everywhere. I dare not go out anywhere near a petrol station in case I end up stuck in traffic and wasting the fuel I do have. Contemplating cancelling a work session with a client tomorrow because its likely going to take an hour or more to drive 11 miles to them, going on todays traffic.

Shirleyphallus · 28/09/2021 08:47

I was out yesterday and it was shocking, traffic backed up across 2 lanes, people driving on the wrong side of the road etc etc. There will be accidents if there haven’t already

SpindleWorld · 28/09/2021 08:49

I agree, OP, and I've been saying this since Saturday. There are awful scenes in some towns and cities, with gridlock putting people, deliveries and public transport at risk. Men (and it is men) have been threatening and assaulting each other in the queues over perceived 'queue jumping'.

Part of the Police's role is to keep the public order and to prevent crime.

It annoys me that the media have whipped up a right bloody frenzy, and that people are being allowed to behave like this without any sort of monitoring, supervision or oversight from anyone in authority.

And just how are petrol tankers supposed to get through the gridlocked traffic without police support? Magic up some massive hoverboards?

DinosApple · 28/09/2021 08:54

The local town was gridlocked at the weekend. Trouble is once you are in a queue it's sometimes not obvious what the cause is. You can't just drive around a 200m queue and assume it's for fuel. You'd feel a right muppet if you got to the front only to discover it was road works or something else .

bonfireheart · 28/09/2021 08:55

The police barely have petrol themselves, someone posted a pic on twitter of a police car that was allowed to jump the queue for petrol and people were kicking off... can't win.

Longdistance · 28/09/2021 08:56

The queues are causing an obstruction in the road, therefore there are many options. I remember being the police telling people to move on. All filling stations to have a limit on fuel. Only open the filling stations at certain times. Emergency vehicles/NHS staff only when the filling station is ‘closed’ to the public.

SpindleWorld · 28/09/2021 08:56

Yes people should get a grip, but how are they to know when it's their 'turn' to go and get fuel without some sort of guidance? 'Calm down' isn't really doing it.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 28/09/2021 08:57

I think everyone knows it’s happening despite people saying it’s not in their area. It was all over the news last night and their was an entire programme on it.

So even if it’s not in ‘your area’ it’s definitely happening.

VladmirsPoutine · 28/09/2021 09:26

@bonfireheart

The police barely have petrol themselves, someone posted a pic on twitter of a police car that was allowed to jump the queue for petrol and people were kicking off... can't win.

The benefits of being a police officer! Get in while you can.

TheUnbearable · 28/09/2021 09:41

Is anyone somewhere up North and seen this? So far it seems to be the SE on the news and people on here reporting issues in the SE.

AdobeWanKenobi · 28/09/2021 09:57

Id personally prefer them to be dealing with actual criminals than traffic, but that said they did pay a visit to the queue of our local Tesco yesterday.
The queue was so long it was backing down the slip road and blocking one lane of the dual carriageway. Police drove past and informed them they faced 6 points for stopping.

flower11 · 28/09/2021 09:59

I agree op. Had it here in the sw my bus was stuck at a gridlocked roundabout with people trying to get into tesco.
The police had time to harass teens playing football in the park and elderly people walking dogs in more than twos last year . The roads are actually dangerous so should be police matter.

Whinginadeville · 28/09/2021 10:03

It'll be over in a coue of days all the twonks will have full tanks and cannisters all those genuinely in need will be full. The RHA boss won't have achieved his cheap EU labour aims and we can just get on with our lives until the next unnecessary media fuelled frenzy. It's been a nice distraction from the Labour Conference shit show so they've benefitted too.

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