Tuesday 10 June 2008

More Petrol Panic

There was a very small article on the inside of tonight's London Lite about a four day petrol strike. This is apparently going to hit 1 in 10 petrol stations as it is tanker drivers who work for Shell that are going on strike. It will commence Friday morning and carry on through until the following Tuesday.

The first thing that amused me was "Number 10 urges motorists not to panic buy, but to continue to buy as normal". Now if that was what you really wanted, here is how I would bring that scenario about. I wouldn't tell anyone about the strike. I especially wouldn't tell them several days in advance. Then everyone would carry on as normal. People will 'panic' buy. Nobody wants to run out of gas. I went out to top up my tank, even though I rarely shop at Shell but generally use Sainsbury's or BP. Just in case, as I'm going down to Kent at the weekend... and last time there were shortages those retailers still selling petrol put their prices up!

The next thing that amused me was the Lite's assessment of areas that would be affected. They listed the South of England, the North West, the Midlands and Scotland. So that's pretty much everywhere then? It appears that only in Newcastle and Wales will you escape this strike.

When I eventually buy a new car (which is several years away) I'm seriously considering a hybrid or LPG or even electric. Something that doesn't really on petrol or diesel, anyway.