Rather than a maximum spend for petrol, we need a minimum

[KingsleyShacklebolt]

Lots of talk of rationing petrol to deal with the people who are panic buying.

I would suggest an alternative approach - a minimum spend. I filled my car yesterday, it's a big mum bus MPV thing so takes £60 - £70 of diesel to fill up. And before anyone asks yes I did need to fill it, it was well into the red.

But the woman in front of me and the man adjacent spent less than £10 each. So their car was clearly not empty.

So why not have a minimum spend? Say £20 or £30? It would stop people topping up every couple of days "just in case". Would stop people filling jerry cans. People aren't going to keep filling up jerry cans or topping up every day if they know that their couple of litres is going to cost £30.

A much simpler way - which wouldn't exclude those who only have a tenner to spend on fuel - would be to have a member of staff checking fuel guages at the entrance to the petrol station. If you have more than (say) half a tank left then you get turned away.

If they stop people filling up jerry cans, I imagine that gardeners etc. will have to siphon fuel out of their car tanks and into the lawnmower - though that doesn't much help if the car is diesel and the lawnmower is petrol.

@HarebrightCedarmoon

I call mine a mum taxi, of course DH drives it as well. Most 1.6L - 2L vehicles from the last 5 or possibly more years are not "gas guzzlers". Just because they might be 4x4 it doesn't mean it has a 5 litre V8 under the bonnet.

Which ones?

And does OP really need a bus for 3 kids?!

. If you have more than (say) half a tank left then you get turned away.

Nope. Not fair to those with long commutes. Far more dangerous to run out on a long journey on the motorway.

And does OP really need a bus for 3 kids?!

You tend to need a good sized car for three kids, yes. You won't get three car seats across the back in a smaller car. Then you need space to transport all their stuff, and your stuff. And often as a parent you end up giving lifts to other kids.

Two car seats in the back and one child in the front. I had to do that. It’s not idea but you can do it. You don’t NEED a big car.

I managed one teen two younger and up to three teens in a 4 seater small car. Needs must.

@BelleOfTheProvince

. If you have more than (say) half a tank left then you get turned away.

Nope. Not fair to those with long commutes. Far more dangerous to run out on a long journey on the motorway.

No-one's at risk of running out on the motorway if they set off with half a tank.

If supplies are so short that we don't have enough for everyone to buy a full tank, only letting people top up if they have half a tank or less is a practical solution.

You can still drive at least a couple of hundred miles and if we have fewer people queuing at petrol stations, they're less likely to run out and the minority who will use their half a tank in a day or two can always buy more when they do start to get low on fuel.

A lot of these issues wouldn't have happened if people hadn't behaved selfishly. If they asked people to only visit a petrol station if they had between a quarter and a half a tank and they would be allowed to buy up to £30 but no more, that would hopefully keep everyone on the road, and not caused anyone real difficulties.

@HarebrightCedarmoon

And does OP really need a bus for 3 kids?!

You tend to need a good sized car for three kids, yes. You won't get three car seats across the back in a smaller car. Then you need space to transport all their stuff, and your stuff. And often as a parent you end up giving lifts to other kids.

Most teenagers (especially those who work) won't need car seats 😉

Needs must, sure, but if bigger cars are available to you why not make things a little more comfortable?

We've got a 7 seater because when we bought it there were six people living in our house, and it was nice and high up for my dad to drive as well with his dodgy hip/lack of mobility.

Yes, I'm sure we could have all squashed into two x Mini Metros. Actually we'd have to have left my dad behind as he couldn't get into a small car, too low down and not enough room to swing his legs in.

Yes, people do buy cars that are too big for them but lots of people buy cars which suit the needs of their family, within what they can afford.

There is a lot of unreasonable criticism of women for driving a family sized 2L SPV that does 50+MPG and a lot of trips with multiple passengers which is driven by misogyny, internalised or otherwise than I ever see towards men driving 4L Audis to work, on their own mostly.

But you don’t NEED a big car to accommodate 3 teens is all I’m saying. (Which was what the op said)

Most teenagers (especially those who work) won't need car seats

When we go anywhere together in the UK there are four of us plus a large dog. I tried to put the dog in a hatchback boot once, it didn't go well.

Depends on your tank doesn't it. Mine wouldn't get me very far on a motorway stretch longer than 2 hours.

There would be shortages anyway. A few people topping up excessively may have exacerbated it, but it's not due to selfishness. It's due to the lack of lorry drivers.

Okay.

Need v want is always going to be subjective. Who needs a nice comfortable house with central heating? We used to manage in caves with a fire.

Of course it is. But it is normal not to have a huge mum bus just because you have children. Most people don’t. Most people also no longer live in caves.

@BelleOfTheProvince

. If you have more than (say) half a tank left then you get turned away.

Nope. Not fair to those with long commutes. Far more dangerous to run out on a long journey on the motorway.

Last week we topped up the car and then drove 350 miles, predominantly on the motorway, and got back still having almost half a tank left.

Half a tank is plenty for motorway driving - even once the panic had started there were several service stations with petrol on the way back.

In our area lots of service stations were saying petrol for lorries only. Glad I didn't take the risk of travelling down the motorway without enough petrol to get there and back. And yes I filled up from 3/4 to a full tank when down there as would have been 1/4 tank left when I got back without a guarantee of getting petrol in my home town. With school runs, work and shopping to get done.

So it's okay for the OP to brim their car, but its not acceptable for anyone else to brim their car?

@Etulosba

l don't normally put more than 20 quid in and I drive my own car for a living, approx 600 miles a week.

If I did 600 miles a week and only put 20 quids worth in at a time, I would have to do it seven times a week.

Sod that.

I put fuel in 3 times a week.

@FaceForRadio1973

So it's okay for the OP to brim their car, but its not acceptable for anyone else to brim their car?

In a nutshell

I've got a 'mum bus'

I've got 2 kids and so has my DP, that's 6 of us on a day out so the 7 seater made sense.

It does 48mpg, I mainly do city driving, its probably higher on the motorway.

I don't think that is gas guzzly, it's the best mpg I've had and this is my 6th car.

All the others did about 35.

Not too bad where I am, except no diesel. Tesco and local shell garage very small queues, i was in and out in 10 mins.
We also seemed to be the last to succumb to the bog roll, pasta fiasco from last year. Unsure if it’s because we have better supplies, or we are more sensible over here.

Not too bad by me either. Except no petrol! I filled up earlier with no wait. There's a queue now but it's not massive

Managed to get fuel at local Tesco today - they were dry and closed Saturday evening.
Quite impressed - they've had overnight deliveries over the weekend, and more diesel coming tonight as that seems to be what's running really low in the area. Young guy and nice lady marshalling and directing people to appropriate pumps as some run out, but they've managed it well
Still queues everywhere, but not as bad at all as Friday/Saturday.

Read the room, dude.

Are you really advocating unlimited refills for those with lots of money and no petrol station access for those who eg have only £10 left this month?

Honestly reading your post I feel so embarrassed for you.