PANIC BUY!

[Couchy]

Heading home yesterday queues at every local petrol station I passed. I need to fuel the bus as I do every Friday for the weekend. Went out at 9pm last night and all petrol stations local now closed and out of fuel so that’s the weekends plans changed. Luckily our other car is electric but that doesn’t fit bikes in which was the weekends plans.
I see people blaming the media and they have to take some blame but we have a govt that should be running the country

[Mr. Dazzle]

Even when there are no shortages panic buying quickly overwhelms the system doesn't it? The same thing happened back in the early noughties with the fuel protest thing.

People are stupid. A person might be smart, but people are stupid

[Potter]

I see people blaming the media and they have to take some blame but we have a govt that should be running the country

The media runs the country, the government panders to it or gets voted out by the idiots reading the media.

[Couchy]

I see people blaming the media and they have to take some blame but we have a govt that should be running the country

The media runs the country, the government panders to it or gets voted out by the idiots reading the media.

Yup

[demographic]

If it's just panic buying it takes a week or so and just levels out cos everyone fills up at three quarters of a tank instead of when its knocking on empty. They don't really use more fuel though.

However, if its a labour shortage (in this case drivers) then it may last longer or as the wages in that area rise the problems move onto another area where the drivers wages are less and they move to the greater money.
Then maybe the farmers don't plant as many crops because they've had labour shortages as well and had crops they had to plough back into the ground.
That gets harder to hide and claim its just media scaremongering.

A bit like this year really then.

[Taipan]

[Mr. Dazzle]

Forcing people to live a life which isn't based on cheapest possible labour and right-now-whatever-you-want thinking probably isn't a bad thing long term.

[Count Steer]

LOL. Red light on fuel gauge, need shopping. Only fuel for one trip. Buy food to last longer than normal, working around the gaps on the shelves. Panic shopping!

[Yorick]

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[Trinity765]

It's the panic that just keeps giving.

[Noggin]

Even when there are no shortages panic buying quickly overwhelms the system doesn't it? The same thing happened back in the early noughties with the fuel protest thing.

People are stupid. A person might be smart, but people are stupid

My favourite quote from Men in Black!!! Use it often!

[Count Steer]

Forcing people to live a life which isn't based on cheapest possible labour and right-now-whatever-you-want thinking probably isn't a bad thing long term.

That's a very positive and constructive attitude* Mr Dazzle

I'm slightly more dystopian and hoping for the Brexiters to start stringing each other up from lampposts claiming it was the others stupid idea.

* if somewhat Panglossian.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Panglossian

Who you callin' a scaley mammal?

FWIW I don't think Brexit has helped the issue, not by a long stretch. Nor has Covid. But if the structural weaknesses hadn't been in place to begin with then 'the system' wouldn't be creaking.

You could have argued that 'they' were expecting to have a reliable supply of drivers in the long term - but come on, Brexit wasn't a surprise. Covid was, but then again "Pandemic" has been number 1 on the list of possible disasters since forever hasn't it?

This is another one of those issues that was always going to come up (TBF, I didn't see it coming but this isn't my game!) and circumstances have just fast forwarded it.

Many bollox have been dropped!

[Mussels]

Google maps is showing local petrol stations are quieter than usual this morning, panic buying over.

[Pirahna]

The government has relaxed visa rules for truck drivers. The visa rules are in place because of Brexit. Therefore the driver shortage is caused by Covid.

I could be a government spokesman.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Google maps is showing local petrol stations are quieter than usual this morning, panic buying over.

I can think of 2 reasons they'd be quiet

[DefTrap]

Time to move over to fuel that can be sourced locally.
Steam power was a lot of fun wasn't it?
And there must be still loads of coal down those mines? Just ship in a load of furriners* to dig it out.

*Northerners

[Mr. Dazzle]

Time to move over to fuel that can be sourced locally.

Maybe they could send it down a long thin metal strand straight to your house.

[DefTrap]

Time to move over to fuel that can be sourced locally.

Maybe they could send it down a long thin metal strand straight to your house.

I don't think they've really tried very hard, the quitters.

[Potter]

It's a logistics balance that is purposely that way, the shortage is just a lot of people that want stuff right now and not many stockpiles of those things, the demand exceeding supply happens so infrequently that it's not economically viable to stockpile it.

The world isn't ending, people won't start eating each other, farms won't collapse, etc.
If the situation continues to the point that it becomes a problem then the logistics chain will adapt so there is more of whatever is needed at the point of demand to provide a buffer - you'll pay a bit more because warehouses need to be built next to supermarkets for bog roll etc.

Our TV is running in the background most of the day and I was in the other room but overheard an interview with some UK logistics bloke down south, he said the petrol storage was just fine, they had no shortage of drivers, but they were struggling to meet the massive and unusual demand in requirements.

I don't know if the unusual demand is either due to media scare stories or everyone having an epiphany that they need more fuel all at the same time - you work out which is the most likely situation.