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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To say that the Gov needs to take control of fuel buying

56 replies

Sarah2384 · 27/09/2021 07:52

It's not just the fuel or lack of it, it's the enormous queues in the vicinity of every petrol station.
I usually drive to work but have no fuel left in my car - so I'm currently on a bus in the London suburbs and already 45 minutes into what should be a 40 min journey - and I'm not even halfway there yet!!!
Should today not be petrol for keyworkers and blue badge holders only? Perhaps then they could create some order for fuel buying, even if it was just alphabetical by number plate.
At least then the roads would be clear for emergency services, public transport and those who are lucky enough to have fuel.
They have to get a grip on this on the ground because the country is grinding to a halt. We stayed at home for Covid, can we not stay at home for a couple of days now?

OP posts:

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 27/09/2021 07:57

Shit like this just makes me think we are a country of clowns, run by clowns, with no discernable leadership or common sense as a whole.

Not entirely sure what the alternative is, as it all just appears to be an ingrained culture.

Fluffypastelslippers · 27/09/2021 08:02

Should today not be petrol for keyworkers and blue badge holders only?

So if you are not a key worker you just have to lose your days pay? So that your bus doesn't get held up? Come on OP.

As for the blue badge? Why? Why can someone with a BB be prioritised over someone else for buying fuel?

araiwa · 27/09/2021 08:02

'how can we out-embarass ourselves again and again?' the UK people and government probably

Mamamia7962 · 27/09/2021 08:03

That just wouldn't work though. What about people who have an appointment to today but need to fill up in order to get there because they couldn't do that at the weekend.

It will calm down soon.

CMZ2018 · 27/09/2021 08:04

Most bizarre suggestion I’ve ever heard. Blue badges get a priority day to buy fuel

Kerberos · 27/09/2021 08:05

Your proposal for alphabetical order is unworkable for a variety of reasons.

Might be helpful for local police to work with petrol stations to limit the length of queues.

Also when this is over, would also be helpful if we learned and where possible drive our cars round with full tanks. That would mean those who do local mileage would have a supply to ride out any supply chain problems.

I'm a little twitchy. Got 1/4 tank and haven't been to a petrol station for fuel in 2+ weeks. I don't need any as I'm planning to work from home for the week.

Does also act as a reminder of our reliance on fossil fuels. I can't afford an electric car right now but it's definitely higher on my list as a result of this.

Theunamedcat · 27/09/2021 08:07

How's about a restriction on Jerry cans etc you can fill them for business but not for personal use? should be fairly easy to prove in my area they limited people to thirty quid to move the queue

Buttetflybookkeeper · 27/09/2021 08:07

I do agree to some extent.

When there were petrol strikes in 2000, they did start saying that only certain people could buy petrol (Emergency services etc) and they had to show ID.

I do think that a lot of people could probably get to work in the short term by alternative means if they stopped and thought about it, like car sharing, public transport or bike/walk. Yes it's not convenient, but for a week or two most people can suck it up.

WindBlowAutumnDays · 27/09/2021 08:08

We do not need more government control. Not everyone wants to live in a totalitarian state we already have the left telling us what we can and can't say even when it's biological fact, I am not in fabour of being controlled anymore after covid you may be not everyone likes that.

SquirmOfEels · 27/09/2021 08:10

Well, if the government was competent, with a track record of sensible measures in lightning time, and if this was a situation that was expected to last more than a few days, then maybe.

Traffic is somewhat lighter in this part of London (we'll see how it goes through peak school running time though) and the bus journey is taking a normal length of time.

Is it a 40 min bus journey that's being held up, or simply a bus route that takes a different route to the one you drive and therefore takes bit longer?

TuckMyWin · 27/09/2021 08:11

And what about people like me, who has to buy petrol to get to my elderly parents’? One of them has dementia, and the other is very poorly with shingles. Under your proposal, they just wouldn’t eat or drink for the whole of today.

Upupupintheair · 27/09/2021 08:14

I don’t think it’s as clear cut as you’re making it (re blue badge holders and key workers) I’m 34 weeks pregnant and have barely any fuel left, so have had to cancel everything this week just in case I need to get to hospital. It’s a worry.

Or what if you’re having chemo at hospital? Or need to visit a close relative who’s on palliative care?

WindBlowAutumnDays · 27/09/2021 08:14

I stayed at home, I wore a mask, I am done with over control and people who like totalitarianism and beeee kinddddd and suck up lies and no life, who don't think things through, this particular chaos will sort it's self out in time, you don't need to give away things that are not yours to give awa anymore, I am not going to be told what I can and can't say and I am not going to be controlled forever more over petrol because of a weeks crisis, enough already.

WearsideBridge · 27/09/2021 08:14

The opposite of this is if key workers don't have fuel as a priority ...hospitals, emergency services, schools, etc. are really going to struggle.

middleager · 27/09/2021 08:17

There are so many scenarios that might be considered priority.

You might be the sole carer for an elderly relative, or not be able to feed or house your kids if you can't work.

You might have an urgent medical appointment, have no other way of getting children to school/care or work in another sector that isn't education or NHS, but that is "essential" to the functioning of society.

One garage was offering priority to anybody who could prove NHS status, so presumably anybody from office staff to those working from home. Is that fair?

Fluffypastelslippers · 27/09/2021 08:22

@WearsideBridge

The opposite of this is if key workers don't have fuel as a priority ...hospitals, emergency services, schools, etc. are really going to struggle.

And if Sheila down the road doesn't make it to work she doesn't get paid. Her family will struggle. If Bob doesn't make it to work he will lose his job as his attendance has been quite bad due to him having to isolate many times. His family will struggle. Etc....

Original poster

Sarah2384 · 27/09/2021 08:25

@Theunamedcat

How's about a restriction on Jerry cans etc you can fill them for business but not for personal use? should be fairly easy to prove in my area they limited people to thirty quid to move the queue

We've seen pictures of people filling jerrycans but that can't be many, can it?

OP posts:

rookiemere · 27/09/2021 08:27

Well I for one am somewhat over the government controlling our lives.

OTOH it would have been sensible for the garage owners to say no petrol filling into anything but vehicles as I think they have done in previous shortages.

I filled up my car as it only had a quarter in it and I have elderly DPs who live an hour away. Everyone will have their own justification.

NailsNeedDoing · 27/09/2021 08:29

No, today shouldn’t just be for key workers or blue badge holders.

What about all the self employed people that were already shafted during covid who need to fill up regularly to get to different jobs or they don’t get paid?

RobinPenguins · 27/09/2021 08:33

Some priority for those for whom not being able to get petrol will severely impact vulnerable people, so I’m thinking of carers, emergency services etc. But anything that really sorted this out would take so long to work through that the immediate issue would be over by the time it was resolved.

Not convinced blue holders need priority tbh.

Everyone has a list as long as their arm as to why they should be the priority.

Definitely ban on filling up jerry cans although I’m not sure who’d enforce that.

ErrolTheDragon · 27/09/2021 08:36

We're on holiday, first time away for 2 years. By sheer good luck we filled up the day before the panic buying started, but now we're having to think very carefully about where we go for the rest of this week so we've got enough to get home.

Would the OPs brilliant proposal have any allowance for people unexpectedly stuck away from home?

I can't imagine why fuel stations have been filling jerrycans unless for regular customers who have a legitimate reason for needing them.

Original poster

Sarah2384 · 27/09/2021 08:39

Is it a 40 min bus journey that's being held up, or simply a bus route that takes a different route to the one you drive and therefore takes bit longer?

No it takes me 20 mins to drive, going early.
It should take about 40 on the bus but it actually took me 1hr5.to go about four miles. Every petrol station we came past had a huge tailback which the bus had no choice but to sit in. Although this is London and buses run every ten mins or so, it's the suburbs and there is still a very car-dependent mindset in this area.

OP posts:

HunterHearstHelmsley · 27/09/2021 08:45

I can't see any priority working for the general public.

In my household, there's two keyworkers and a blue badge holder. One works from home, one is part time and one doesn't work. We would be allowed to get petrol (for three cars) but don't actually need it. Next door, is a handy man. He wouldn't be allowed to get petrol but needs it and will be without his wage if he doesn't get it.

If its going to be limited, it has to be for emergency service vehicles. We can't play top trumps. We will all need to muddle through.

SquirmOfEels · 27/09/2021 08:47

I know what you mean, routes in the suburbs tend to be radial into central London, and aside from the main north/south circular, they often don't work well for non-radial journeys.

I left home somewhat earlier this morning (just in case) but it was normal on that route, and is looking pretty normal where I am now.

OTOH, all the petrol stations near to where I live are out of petrol, so we have no issues with queueing. I saw on the local news that there was a queue literally a mile long for one remaining open in Streatham

PS: I've just had a pop up saying that the activists are at it on the M25 today!

Original poster

Sarah2384 · 27/09/2021 08:48

@Upupupintheair

Or what if you’re having chemo at hospital? Or need to visit a close relative who’s on palliative care?

No I know it's not clear cut. I only said blue badgeholders because I was thinking that these were people who had been assessed as not being able to walk or use public transport. Everyone has reasons why they must go somewhere, some more pressing than others. But if it was clear that there was no fuel available to the majority, people who might otherwise be heading to join the queue at a fuel station would be forced to consider working from home, lift sharing or public transport for a day or two and so the congestion around petrol stations would clear, allowing most of the world who don't need to fill up to get on with their lives. The picture will vary across the country but in this particular part of the world there are a lot of petrol stations, at least one every mile, and many people trying to use the roads they're on to go somewhere. It's not working!

OP posts:

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