are you "panic buying" petrol?

[mumonthenet]

possible supply problems in the UK

where I live, in Portugal, since last night people have been queuing for petrol/diesel.

Diesel has now run out in most petrol stations in my town - some are closed, and they are still queuing (at 6pm) for petrol.

Me and Dh "panic" bought last night. We have enough for a week. The truck drivers are striking to force the gov to cut taxes on fuel, and of course, the knock on effect is that we all rush out and buy.

Interesting phenomenon, don't know what will happen.

Glad I'm still on ML - the place I work at is bound to get blockaded - there is an oil storage depot next door to it!
Still it is a total PITA.
Unless you are really need to fill up, to get to work, school run etc., I would avoid for the moment until it all dies down.

Sainsbury petrol atation has forced the smaller stations out of business and now in my area they have shut the petrol station until August to upgrade the pumps so it is limited to tesco and they have big ques as Saisbury is closed and now added to that people are panic buying [mhh] so two fold around here.

I had to fill up today, and had no probs.Have to have fuel, cos I live in a small village, with very little public transport. i do a hellish amount of miles each week (but I worked out I get at least 50 to the gallon, so dont feel too environmentally guilty).
Allegedly we dont make (?) diesel here, it has to be imported, so there is less of it, so it is more expensive. Looad of bollox if you ask me!

I filled up yesterday, I am a CM who takes 5 children on a school run, we couldnt walk, the road is the main road from Salisbury to weymouth and no path, and school is 4 miles away anyway, dont fancy that walk with a double buggy and a toddler as well as the schoolies!

But at least they are all going in one car, and all can walk to my house from theirs.

But it took £75.00 to fill my deisel Bongo!

Was working Tuesday night until 11pm, saw the Daily Mail headline at the newsagents adn thought will all be buying on wed, so went at midnight.Was running low though [disclaimer]

I won't go off on one here but I think panic buying is really silly.

Sorry.

Missed all of this

We have oodles of petrol at the moment because I spotted it much lower priced than normal the other day, so filled up then. (When did £1.13.9 become a lower price???)

How do you 'panic buy' petrol anyway? There's only so much a car's tank will take -or are we talking filling up jerry cans etc?
I always fill up when I get to just below 1/4 full anyway as I do loads of motorway driving for work and don't like to risk being stuck in an M25 jam with dwindling fuel.
I did fill up yesterday though when only 1/2 full as we're going away this weekend and I didn't want to risk a long queue on Saturday morning when we need to be off sharpish.

Panic buying is buying more than you normally do or buying before you normally would. Instead of putting your usual £20 worth of petrol it you fill it to over flowing, or instead of filling up when the light comes on, you top up when you are 3/4 full. If everyone buys petrol in a different way to their usual pattern the pumps rapidly empty.

I alwyas buy my fuel at 11pm on my way home from work

However, if there is a fuel shortage, I can't get to work

Everyone in Bath PASNIC BUY, then I can have a few days off.

Ok so when I said I wouldn't go off on one I lied.

There is panic in the air generally I think at the moment and not just about petrol.

Oil, food, inflation, housing, unemployment rising etc. Our generation just hasn't had to deal with this stuff before and consequently I think everyone's flapping a bit.

I suspect most of our parents who can remember the lights going out in the 70's and all the associated grief are prob a little more sanguine.

Oh dear, missed this too, DH said there was a big queue at the petrol station last night but didn't realise why. I have about 1/4 tank of deisel left.

Just found this - lol
www.sniffpetrol.com/2008/05/02/petrol-panic/

Roobie, panic buying does involve the jerry can brigade.

I don't even own a jerry can.

They better be hoping nobody throws a lit match or cigarette near their garden sheds or garages then! It would solve the how-to-heat-your-house problem though.

Ratbunny - it isn't bollocks... we don't have very much diesel refinery capacity in the UK - we are a nett importer of diesel, and a nett exporter of petrol.
The government needs to be putting pressure in the form of windfall taxes on the refineries to get them to convert some to diesel production.

i need petrol, but cant be bothered to wait in line!

I will have to brave it tonight thought i think - 60mile trip to do and im in the red.....

I just love that word "mithering" by the way...

fuel report from AA

UK has second highest price of diesel

Governemnt could put a stop to this if they wanted to surely ?

Diesel was never as expensive as petrol. The fact that we have to import it may be true may a red herring as regards to its price surely .

not panic buying.. doing exactly as normal, running tank to red line then filling up.
though that it takes £75 to fill my tank

How do you get people to panic buy?

answer

Report on the TV and newspaper that you must not panic buy!

whether it be rice, petrol or bread just tell the public not to do something and this will garentee that they will go and do it straight away.

I dread to think how much a full tank of diesel would cost me probably close to £100 .

That sniff petrol thing is brill!

CaptainUnderpants - it's not a red herring, the issue is that we pay the same amount of duty on diesel as we do on petrol which pushes the price up even further.
On the continent, most countries pay less duty on diesel.
There's been talk that there could be a EU directive coming in removing VAT from fuel. But I'll believe that when it happens

I have enough in my tank to make sure I can get DD to school for her last 2 A levels if the train is cancelled (not uncommon)

After that I'll be walking to work & the RustyBear Teentaxi service is suspending business.