AIBU to think there's more to the petrol "crisis" than meets the eye?

[tartantroosers]

AIBU to think there's something very weird going on with the fuel "shortages"!
Big caveat- I'm not a conspiracy theorist but it's so bad where we are (Just inside M25) that many people I know won't be able to get to work this week. Garages have queues which are blocking all main routes and they're not even open! Is this a novel way of ensuring that we all "STAY AT HOME" ?!

[Suzi888]

No, this human stupidity at its finest and no doubt we are on our way to extinction.

OP honestly the amount of covid positive carrying on as normal whilst pocketing their £750 isolation payment is scary- that should be the real focus. Millions of pounds wasted. Strangely the media don’t report it

[Suzi888]

In fact, I may start a thread…

[Dreamstate]

They want to keep you scared, now they cant use covid and thr daily numbers to scare you, here comes another crisis...and on it goes.

6 stations in BP might close and bam media wall to wall coverage of pending fuel shortage, unbelievable. They manifested a fuel shortage by praying on your fears congrats you idiots.

Did you learn nothing from the whole loo roll and food saga where they hyped it up so much we ended up with shortages and guess what happened the shops stayed open!

I mean ffs they just play us and we make it fun one easy for them to do it.

I mean look at what else they hsveeb doing, upping the ante about Xmas and get your presents now blah blah spend you money folks quick! Its ridiculous people fall off it.

If you actually avoid the news life is so much happier, in fact if everyone had avoided the news would there be a fuel shortage right now and multiple stations closed? No there wouldn't.

[FreshFreesias]

It’s a good way of getting foreign workers back to pay them a low wage and depress wages.
Also it’s a way of getting people to buy electric cars.

[mpsw]

The bit that doesn't make sense to me is why, if one main cause is shortage of drivers, they did not bring in the military.

The RLC, for example, has loads of HGV drivers, most qualified for dangerous loads and many experienced with fuel

[PrtScn]

The only petrol station round here still open for fuel is the one that has been limiting fillups to £30 max. If the others had followed suit we’d probably not be in quite so much shit.

[mellicauli]

This is the endpoint of competition and market forces - a battle between the road haulage industry and the government.

Rather than improve the appalling working conditions of their drivers, the road haulage company have chosen to scare consumers into panic buying in attempt to strong arm the government. First they did it with Christmas, then they did it with food, now petrol.

They employed many Eastern European drivers who were happy to live in their cabs for a few years so they could return home and buy themselves a nice house to live in with their families. UK drivers were not willing to put up with the conditions and had no nice house to look forward to it ever at those wages, and left in numbers.

To be fair, the road haulage industry is probably forced into it by the wafer thin margins that the big retailers etc all force them into.

[MardyBoudoir]

Or maybe it’s just because our supply chains are fucked because of Brexit and lack of planning by gov/Boris.

[Blossomtoes]

@boobot1

It's weird I see none of this where I live. No queues and no fuel shortages.🤷‍♀️

Same here. There was a little queue at Sainsbury’s on Friday. That was it.

[firsttimedad79]

There was no shortage of fuel until people started panic buying.

The shortage is only at the forecourt end. There is plenty of fuel and no shortage of fuel delivery drivers.

This is purely people panicking.

[AdoptedBumpkin]

I don't think there is a Government conspiracy but I do feel the media are making it worse.

[Staffy1]

I think there is something odd going on as according to the news, apparently there is a worldwide shortage of HGV drivers and this is what’s to blame for the fuel and shop shortages. Europe and the US were given as examples as well as here. Yet there were no signs or no mention of this a week or two ago, so what’s supposed to have happened to all the HGV drivers suddenly?

[Staffy1]

When I say something odd going on, I mean the explanation given.

[godmum56]

@PicsInRed

People were literally TOLD to keep their tanks above half way, they immediately went and did as they were told and this is the perfectly foreseeable result.

My personal conspiracy theory is that big business wanted to bring back foreign labourers to exploit (and just watch, this won't be limited to skilled HGV drivers) rather than pay decent wages locally, and this crisis has been entirely manufactured so the government can initiate the visa programme...they just rolled out this week. Oh, will you look at that. How expeditious, what coincidence.

where were they told this? All I saw was folk saying please only buy fuel if you need it.

[AFuturisticalSound]

@Suzi888

No, this human stupidity at its finest and no doubt we are on our way to extinction.

OP honestly the amount of covid positive carrying on as normal whilst pocketing their £750 isolation payment is scary- that should be the real focus. Millions of pounds wasted. Strangely the media don’t report it

What payment is that? How do you get it @Suzi888a friend of mine has attested positive and I know she could really use the money as she's only going to get SSP

[PicsInRed]

so what’s supposed to have happened to all the HGV drivers suddenly?

At a guess...covid caused a lot of expat people to repatriate themselves and their families to ride it out back home, and HGV driver tend to be older and male, so sadly possibly more susceptible to covid.

[AFuturisticalSound]

@Staffy1

I think there is something odd going on as according to the news, apparently there is a worldwide shortage of HGV drivers and this is what’s to blame for the fuel and shop shortages. Europe and the US were given as examples as well as here. Yet there were no signs or no mention of this a week or two ago, so what’s supposed to have happened to all the HGV drivers suddenly?

You're kidding, we've known about the shortage of HGV drivers for ages. Nothing has suddenly happened, do you not know that tests were suspended for covid just like ordinary driving tests?

[cushioncovers]

What's going on is that people are easily panicked and have an every man for himself attitude. It also shows that a lot of people don't trust what the government says anymore.

[Brindisi32]

No I don’t see any govt conspiracy behind the fuel crisis. I just see a lot of panicky people with cars and Jerry cans running to the petrol stations and causing unnecessary shortages.

[peewitsandy]

Last week we had the same number of H.G.V drivers, yet no panic regarding fuel at Petrol stations ! I admit we are very short of drivers, but this 'Chaos' has been planned to coincide with the Labour Party Conference. However, with fuckwits like Angela Raynor about , the Labour Party will again end up looking stupid and 'Shite' and not the Government's dis-organisation regarding training new H.G.V drivers.

Labour's stupidity again misses an open goal....

[Herja]

where were they told this? All I saw was folk saying please only buy fuel if you need it.

I definitely heard this on radio 4 the day before yesterday, it was a quarter tank though.

I don't have a car, so I will do as I always do and walk a lot. I am inclined to agree that the government declaring there's no shortage probably means there's a shortage though.

[TwoLeftSocksWithHoles]

You may have a point, I was in a service station yesterday and there were NO Krispy Kreme donuts!!!
No wonder there are queues everywhere.
I had to have a Twix and something off the counter that was past it's sell by date.

[Dreamstate]

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles

You may have a point, I was in a service station yesterday and there were NO Krispy Kreme donuts!!!
No wonder there are queues everywhere.
I had to have a Twix and something off the counter that was past it's sell by date.

Quick inform the media and we can have another food shortage panic!

[Neonplant]

Yes Yabu

[PicsInRed]

godmum56

It was reports like this, below, initially on tv/radio only. Iirc, at one point I think Boris recommended keeping at least half a tank, but I can't find that in print...

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10023181/Drivers-warned-not-let-fuel-tanks-quarter-ahead-winter-discontent-fuel-crisis.html

"It comes as Petrol Retailers Association last night warned drivers to 'keep a quarter of a tank' of fuel in their vehicles in preparation for potential closures of local petrol stations."

Literally minutes after these reports came out, people began queuing for fuel.