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CJ Cregg
Commodore
Joined: 05 Oct 2002
Posts: 1254
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 Mon Sep 12, 2005 3:59 pm UK Fuel Crisis |
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| Quote: | Don't panic, say fuel protesters
Motorists are being urged not to panic-buy ahead of planned fuel tax protests, as queues of up to an hour are reported at some petrol stations.
The Fuel Lobby's Andrew Spence said no oil refinery blockades were planned so there was no need to stock up.
Some petrol stations have reportedly "run dry", while others are employing extra staff to cope with the demand.
Merseyside Police have asked people not to ring 999 to ask where to buy fuel after phone lines became strained.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Have ensured that both mine and my wife's car is full, and made a special trip out to fill up my bike too
Paul Sealey, Cannock, England
And there are reports of lines of motorists topping up their tanks in Kent, Lincolnshire, Manchester and long queues at station forecourts in east London.
Last week the government reportedly discussed plans to deal with a threat to fuel supplies - including the possibility of petrol rationing.
A Department of Trade and Industry document details possible measures including purchase limits, restricted opening hours, and moves to discourage motorists from frequently topping up their fuel tanks.
Mr Spence told BBC News it was this talk of rationing that had prompted motorists to stock up.
Smaller scale?
"There will be no blockades so, please, there is no need to panic-buy."
He also urged Chancellor Gordon Brown to cut tax immediately.
Mr Spence said peaceful protests planned for Wednesday were an act of desperation from haulage and farming industries facing collapse.
They would also be supported by French, Spanish and American truckers, he said.
Petrol Retailers Association director Ray Holloway said there had been a day of increased sales and urged the government to set a pre-emptive "minimum fuel purchase".
It is just ridiculous to not step in now and bring those prices down
Garagewatch head Mark Bradshaw
That would prevent drivers with nearly-full tanks needlessly queuing, as many did during the fuel protests in 2000, he said.
He also warned motorists to behave responsibly: "I really do appeal to people to actually just buy fuel when they need it.
"If people really do buy in the normal way, fuel will be available on the forecourts."
There were now 25% fewer filling stations across the UK than in 2000, he told BBC News.
Protests against the fuel tax are being planned after the price of unleaded reached �1 a litre in parts of the UK.
Revenue boost
But few believe the demonstrations would be on the scale of those that left many motorists without fuel and supermarket shelves empty five years ago.
BP, which operates 1,300 filling stations, said there were no signs of abnormal sales. This was reflected by supermarket chain Asda, which runs 146 stations.
Mark Bradshaw, head of Garagewatch, which represents 6,500 independent retailers in the UK, said forecourts had been "quite quiet".
Protesters were not intending to halt deliveries, so there was no need to panic, he added.
But Mr Bradshaw is calling for a tax cut and a "maximum figure on the pump of 80p a litre".
Although the groups remain united in their belief petrol prices are too high, it appears they are united by little else
"With the barrel price of oil at a record high now the government are making huge amounts of revenue from North Sea oil.
"On top of that the higher the price at the pump, the more they are making on VAT as well."
Institute of Directors chief economist Graham Leach also called for a tax cut pointing out that 47p of the 97p pump price went into Treasury coffers.
Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor Vince Cable said there was no justification for panic-buying but said "the government needs to have contingency plans in place".
Roger King, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said there was a "very strong case" for the government to reduce fuel duty, particularly for commercial vehicle operators.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4236676.stm |
There is no petrol left in most petrol stations, massive queues for the ones that have some left. Plus the protests havnt started yet 
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Seven of Nine
Sammie's Mammy
Joined: 16 Jun 2001
Posts: 7871
Location: North East England
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| Tue Sep 13, 2005 1:24 am |
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Ah... too many people remembering 2000... I had to stay off school cos the bus company didn't have enough petrol to do my route more than 4 times a day.
Was weird seeing less cars about though 
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harrykims#1fan
Fan Girl Muskateer
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 2916
Location: Leicester UK
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| Tue Sep 13, 2005 9:28 am |
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i had to have a coupla days off from school as well...but people are bein stuoid with the panic buying....i'm pretty sure there should be enough petrol for everyone even if they did have to ration it
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Stoke me a clipper i'll be back for christmas
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CJ Cregg
Commodore
Joined: 05 Oct 2002
Posts: 1254
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| Thu Sep 15, 2005 1:16 pm |
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Well what an anti-climax. The day comes and passes an nothing happens. The public caused the entire thing themselves 
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Kylon
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 03 Jun 2002
Posts: 292
Location: In a distant galaxy far far away...
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| Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:47 pm Peak Oil |
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Have y'all ever heard of Peak Oil?
This is only the begining.
On top of this, global warming will increase, which in turn will cause intensified drought in the inlands of places like North America, Asia and Africa, and don't forget Australia, and people will progressively disregard the environment, which they will destroy in order to try to maintain their lavish standard of living.
Then once everything collapses, the very same environment which everyone destroyed, will be the only thing allowing people to survive.
Now, what do humans generally do in a situation of scarcity? Will humans work together to try to resolve this? Will new technologies be made to try to rectify the solution? Yes, and yes, but only to a very minor degree, for the most part people will go back to their base instincts and try to survive. Every clan/gang/group/one for him or herself.
You might look into peak oil.
It only goes down from here.
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Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Albert Einstein
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Superman
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 06 Dec 2003
Posts: 10220
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| Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:04 pm |
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| CJ Cregg wrote: | | Well what an anti-climax. The day comes and passes an nothing happens. The public caused the entire thing themselves |
So true. Some tabloids are to blame as well. They give publicity to the 'crisis' and people rush out and buy fuel. Now, there is only a shortage because of panic buying.
I was speaking to someone today who said it was only right that people panic buy. I explained to him why it was not wise, but he continued. So I put it to him another way.
Let's say you have a village with a population of 10 people. In that village is a small shop. Now, news gets to the population that there could be a problem with delivery of milk for a few days. However, there are 10 bottles of milk in the shop, enough to allow one bottle per person.
Now, it would be wise if each person bought one bottle and tried to make it last for a couple of days. That way, there'd be no problem. However, let's say that a couple of selfish panic buyers bought up all the milk. What would be the result? That's right, several people would be left without any milk to buy. Who would have caused the shortage, though? The two selfish people who decided to panic buy.
After that, he understood. It's not hard to understand. I mean, I'm not the most intelligent person in the world, but I understand it. The only reason petrol stations were short in the UK was because of panic buying. If people had just went about their business, and only bought fuel when they needed it, some of the petrol stations would not now be in a situation where they have no petrol to sell.
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Otter
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 12 Oct 2004
Posts: 12895
Location: England
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| Sun Sep 18, 2005 5:27 am |
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Nobody should be able to get petrol unless it's going in the tank of their car, And then only up2 a limit!
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