Petrol shortage

[Seeker]

The EU driver shortage has no direct bearing on our problem other than the EU offers better conditions with no paperwork hassles that Brexit has introduced, since we have driven (!) the EU drivers away then naturally they will go to fill the void of EU drivers within the EU.

It's less financially attractive for EU drivers to be here because our economy has suffered more than other EU nations (thus causing a drop in the pound/Euro) because Brexit
https://www.independent.co.uk/indepe...-b1901440.html
Since we have told them we don't want them (post Brexit)
Since the logjam at our ports means being stuck for hours (caused by Brexit) with no rest facilities. You do realise that all outgoing freight has to go through rigorous EU paperwork checks whereas incoming freight does not because the government haven't got around to sorting that out yet.

Maybe the EU is short of drivers because their economies have rebounded quicker from the pandemic - our GDP only looks good (goodish) because of the insane housing market, take that away and it's in the doldrums.

After diving into this Brexit rabbit hole, the fact remains that this government has been slow to react and has no idea how to fix the problem other than blaming everyone except themselves. The estimate is now that 50% of petrol stations have no fuel.

[Nobbylad]

BTW - it's extremely difficult, if not impossible to book a practical test this side of Xmas (in the North West)

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by Seeker

The estimate is now that 50% of petrol stations have no fuel.

In comparison it would be interesting to learn what estimated proportion of vehicles now have full tanks compared to a 'normal' mix of full, part-full and low-level (needing replenishment). Presumably usage rates haven't changed dramatically through the supply 'shortage'? I suspect it's not something easy to identify but I am sure many vehicle owners have been irrationally confusing instinctive fear of possibly running out with actual need. (Less willingness to let vehicle gauges run down, 'just in case', even though they're not likely to burn through what they already had any time soon - but did they really need to buy it based on any sort of sensible analysis?)

So if usage ('burn-rate') is similar, it's simply moved more stock than usual from petrol station to vehicles so there should soon be a lull in purchase demand that will allow time for forecourt supplies to replenish, unless stupid people continue to insist on brimming their tanks even when they're not using much. Modern supply chains tend to try to minimise inventory and move material in smaller, more frequent batches from supply to demand. In the case of vehicle fuel, the hazards from large-scale bulk storage are a limiting consideration too. All fine in steady-state but the downside is that they are often less resilient to sudden and dramatic changes in supply and demand.

In my case, I managed to get a £30 limited top-up yesterday to take my car from low-fuel warning light level to just over 1/2 full. I estimate that should be good for a couple of weeks (unless work suddenly insists I commute to the office more often) so I probably won't worry about seeking more fuel for at least a week or 10 days. Will it have blown over or am I a fool to be so relaxed about it?

I don't agree that this national fuel supply problem is caused by a severe driver shortage linked to Brexit - If we did I'm sure we'd have been facing this problem months ago. (I can recall regularly seeing odd pumps with the "out-of-use" labels on them, both before and after Brexit, but has anyone had any real problems getting fuel since Brexit 'go-live'?) Sure, the driver issues will have limited the ability to respond to the increased buying, but right now IMHO this event was caused by media-fuelled (sic) agenda-driven hysteria off the back of localised things that happen routinely all the time.

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by Nobbylad

BTW - it's extremely difficult, if not impossible to book a practical test this side of Xmas (in the North West)

Similar in East Midlands. As it happens, one of my sons has been trying to get an HGV re-test. Having to co-ordinate via a training school to ensure he has a suitable vehicle to hire and gets some pre-test refresher practice. He's been in touch wth several but all report the same: Availability is like rocking-horse poop.

What makes it more farcical is the only reason he failed previously is that he clipped a kerb as a result of instinctively swerving and slowing to avoid colliding with the car that suddenly cut across in front of him making a late lane change after undertaking to turn right around an island. Clipping a kerb is a "major" fault on test - instant fail. For test purposes it seems he'd have been better holding his position and letting the car bash into him!

[Bibio]

strange how they introduce E10 and all of a sudden there is a shortage... technically should there not be more, 5% more nationally. or is there actually a shortage of ethanol...

[Seeker]

Relevant

https://newsthump.com/2021/09/27/arm...ence-shortage/

[svenrico]

Heard on radio that there is a backlog of 20,000 at DVLA of HGV licences waiting to be processed. Doesn't surprise me after my experience a few years ago when my license was revoked due to a medical condition. It took 6 months after I was passed fit to drive before I got it back. After numerous telephone calls ,letters - even the DVLA medical dept eventually said they couldn't understand what had been going on !

[svenrico]

There is no doubt a shortage of delivery drivers but there is no shortage of fuel , the current problem is caused by panic buying.

[svenrico]

Morrisons were out of petrol when we arrived to shop yesterday but tanker there and cars starting to queue as we left. Filled up bike at a local garage today ,£40 limit (which didn't affect me on bike obviously ) but no queues. On my trip I passed another 3 garages serving petrol with no cars queuing.

[Bibio]

someone i know has just recently passed their HGV but cant get a job driving artics. its not just about having an HGV licence its companies refusing to take on inexperienced drivers. again the media is scaremongering the public.

why this country cant use freight train and short haul is beyond me. this would reduce road traffic and use less fuel.