Petrol Madness

It's all the fault of Mick Parry IMHO.

Shayman

Single carriageways are for commuters only? No thought for you? Perhaps some of these people were commuters and actually just needed to fill-up, or were non commuters just driving around for the day. Is that OK with you?

Hey that queue many even have slowed down a few speeding Taxi Drivers with any luck.

Geoff

Here we go again. A cohort of self employed entrepreneurs decide that the rules of business don’t apply to them and threaten to start ‘people’s protests’ . Word gets around, panic is fuelled by the media, and everything grinds to a halt. I wonder how much income I’m going to lose this time round if the stupidity escalates. You can’t blame people for being spooked (although many behave like lemmings) but I fail to understand what the plight of a lorry driver going out of business has got to do with me. Do I like the levels of fuel tax? No. But they haven’t gone up since 2000. You can either stay in business or you can’t. And if you can’t, do like the rest of us would and go bust. Trying to put downward pressure on fuel prices is surely diddling about at the margins? It’s not like business users can’t claim it back. Prices are bound to rise, even before you factor in the war in the Golf and Katrina – business plan anyone? I don’t remember the world stopping rotating on its axis when prices quadrupled. Time to put some serious thought into redeveloping the alternative infrastructure perhaps? Or would that be too difficult and painful compared to the notion (now a distant memory) of cheap fuel powering the mighty economy. Wake up protesters! We’re living in a different world now and queuing with many other developing nations for a dwindling resource. I’ve heard it said that fuel duty is higher in the UK than just about anywhere else. So what? I believe it’s very low in Luxemburg – so go live there.

Cheers (with tongue half in cheek)

Harry

quote:

Single carriageways are for commuters only? No thought for you? Perhaps some of these people were commuters and acutally just needed to fill-up

With all due respect Geoff, what sort of fucking moron driving down a busy single carriageway road would simply stop on the road, cars queueing up behind, to wait (3 to 4 mins in some cases) til they could get on an already rammed forecourt. Don't be such a clever arse....and if by your post you mean you'd do the same thing, hopefully some of the road rage I witnessed this morning against these idots will manifest itself on you in the shape of a sore ear

Jonathan

With some respect? You seem to lack any for other road users, just because you can't get to work on time.

No I would not join a queue to get in a full petrol station and block a busy road, but you seem to be of the attitude that thinks everyone should not be there even if they have no other option!

You are not the only one with a 'schedule' to keep, and my point was that non-commuters have every right to use the roads as you do.

Do you think road rage is acceptable?

Instead of isolating fuel duty (although it is unacceptably high) the protests should be about the overall level of taxation in this country, and how little value for money we've had from the continual rises introduced by the current government.

If Gordon Brown doesn't get enough money to waste from fuel duty he'll just put taxes up somewhere else instead.

quote:

Instead of isolating fuel duty (although it is unacceptably high) the protests should be about the overall level of taxation in this country, and how little value for money we've had from the continual rises introduced by the current government.

If Gordon Brown doesn't get enough money to waste from fuel duty he'll just put taxes up somewhere else instead.

Was not this very point put to the Nation just a few months ago? I think the Nation has voted on this very topic and has decided to support Gordon Brown don't you?

quote:

I think the Nation has voted on this subject don't you?

No I don't. The majority of the nation are too stupid to understand and it'll only be when our economy is really fucked up badly enough that it becomes a day-to-day issue (e.g. petrol prices) that we'll see change.

Of course I'm presently particularily pissed off about Labour because it's just come to light that they deliberately lied about the economic viability of an independent Scotland in order to preserve their hopes at overall power in the UK.

quote:

Do you think road rage is acceptable?

No I don't.

quote:

You seem to lack any for other road users

What've I done now!!!! Why haven't I??? What from what I've said so far suggests I showed a lack of respect for other road users. I sat there quite unagitated and even possibly amused as a young man in a Porsche 4x4 parked for several minutes in the road to buy some petrol whilst various other mototrists got out and asked him what he thought he was doing. You seem to think that is an acceptable way to behave.

All I implied was that some may not accept your point of view that you are more important than other people in your quest for your tank of fuel and may express it in a less articulate way. you may also find little sympathy for your plight from the delayed majority.

Jonathan

quote:

Originally posted by Shayman:
I sat there quite unagitated and even possibly amused as a young man in a Porsche 4x4 parked for several minutes in the road to buy some petrol whilst various other mototrists got out and asked him what he thought he was doing. You seem to think that is an acceptable way to behave.

Was his car parked illegally? Was his fuel tank perhaps nearly empty?

Ok Shayman, I accept what you are saying, but in my view nobody is more important than anyone else on the road. We all have a right to be there, wherever and whenever we want. This of course has to be 'driven' by an attitude that is unselfish towards other road users, other wise we all suffer!

Regards
Geoff

I really don't know what all the fuss is about. I think I'll buy online instead of joining a queue, and risking the wrath of enraged naimees.

Just go to http://www.petroldirect.com

But don't blame me if you get what you ask for.

Oil companies/Gordo must be quietly laughing to themselves. Mr/Miss A.V.G Joe moans about the price of fuel, Mr/Miss A.V.G Joe hears about possible lack of fuel due to protests, Mr/Miss A.V.G Joe then proceeds to fill his/her fuel tank to the brim. Oil companies/Gordo say "Look, it can't be that expensive - they've just rushed out and bought a load more. Lets review prices in 6 months, eh?". He, he, he, kerching.

Yup.

And FWIW (if anything) this message was sent by one of my clients to its field based employees this afternoon:

"As you will all be aware, in some areas of the country there are increasing difficulties in obtaining petrol due to panic buying of supplies.

We have obtained the latest news from the Fuel Lobby who state ‘The Fuel Lobby's Andrew Spence said panic buying is unnecessary. He said no attempts to disrupt supplies were being planned so there was no need for motorists to stock up.’ According to the BBC website, ‘three days of fuel price protests are expected to start on Wednesday but supplies are not going to be disrupted’."

Cheers

Harry

I need to get some petrol for my lawnmower. Do you think I'd better wait 'till the dust settles?

quote:

Originally posted by Stephen B:
I need to get some petrol for my lawnmower. Do you think I'd better wait 'till the dust settles?

Get a government grant to convert to LPG

My wife and I have just returned from our holiday to this fiasco, and my wife had no fuel for her car.

She needs the car as there is no bus service to the train station and the fact that she is 7 months pregnant, we do try to use public transport, if possible.

I was waiting in a queue (on the forecourt) with my wife as she was about to run out of fuel, she did, and the station ran out, good job I followed in our other car to save her a 20 mile walk!

The vast majority of folk in the queue were filling jerry cans & their cars, brim full, from 3/4 full!!!!

Thank you inconsiderate morons, probably the very same folk who insist my (very obviously) heavily pregnant wife stands on public transport, and also crushed and subsequently killed my cousin Saturday, on his scooter waiting in a queue for fuel on the road, by shunting it from behind.

Mitigating circumstances, I know, but still a result of this madness.

Regards

Guy

Petrol direct? They must be kidding!? 'a bit of lead never hurt anyone', and 'Just enter the desired quantity of the fuel you need, and we'll package it up and send it to you in the post, first class, delivered straight through your letterbox' Well I've got to hand it to them, it's a pretty slick website, bearing in mind how long they've had to set it up! Hope they don't deliver to smokers...

Aimed especially at lady drivers of Beetle Convertibles, Mazda MX5s and other girlie cars

Girlie cars! (Come to think of it I never have seen a man driving any model of the new Beetle.)

On yer bikes!

What's the problem? I had to fill up today 'cos I wouldn't have got to where I was going otherwise. Yet no queues.

My wife is calling this a self-full-filling prophesy.

The upside? Half the nozzles in Europe have some free petrol in them. Left by the moron in front of you squeezing the last drop into their bulging tank! So be careful how you lift the nozzle off the pump when you finally get to the front of the queue!

I'd like to see their face when the price drops again and they still have a tank full of the most expensive petrol they've ever bought! Boom boom?

Thing is how many of those sitting in queues actually NEED a full tank of petrol/diesel my neighbour who does about 40 miles a week has her car full, how many more?, I have a company car and need it to do my work, but if it runs out, it runs out, last time folks like my neighbour were driving around with near full tanks while there were shortages for the emergency vehicles, selfish madness I say, besides she's pretty overweight and a few days walking to work won't do her any harm.

That’s a bit harsh. Calling people out for what you consider their stupidity (which is all relative) is one thing but I think this thread could get heated enough without resorting to attacks on people who are overweight. I agree that the panic buying mentality is daft and causes considerable inconvenience. Company car users who do high miles suffer enough. Then there are those who only get paid if we show up. So with trips totalling around 1500 miles planned for next week, with no alternative means of transport I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this is a brief blip. I stand to lose a lot of income if I can’t fulfil my commitments. As has been said, it’s odd that many seem only too willing to pay top price, yet were complaining last month. Amazing how quickly we turn around and start heading back to the trees at the slightest provocation – something is wrong.

Cheers

Harry

I've not seen any long queues at the pumps this morning. Mind you, that could be because there's no fuel in 'em.