Panic buying. Have we not learnt anything from 2020?
March 2020 the world went mad. Panic buying went insane, Keyworkers and NHS staff shared on social media breaking down in tears while in supermarket car-parks because they were exhausted, there was nothing on the shelves for either them or the people they were caring for to eat. A single roll of toilet paper was being sold down back alleys for more than a pack of 9, and don’t even get me started on pasta!
So you would think that as a country we would have learnt not to be ridiculous and panic-buy when really there is no need.
The fuel itself is ok, forecourts might have had one or two pumps closed off out of 20, but that is normal. And then the News told everyone it’s ok and not to panic buy…and what does everyone go and do? Panic buy!
Now we are back to Keyworkers and NHS Staff posting again on social media that they can’t get to work or to the homes of the vulnerable and needy to help them.
Clearly, we have learnt nothing from last year. Those who can work from home should be allowed to work from home to help those who desperately need to get fuel so they can use their cars to get to work or tend to those in care.
Also, it would be much better for the environment if we stopped using fuel to run our cars. Granted not everyone can go electric just yet, I sadly am one of those due to where I live, but those who can change and have an easily accessible charging point at home should.
In the last 21years, we have seen two rather significant fuel crises.
2000 – Crude oil jumped to a staggering £23 a barrel, PM at the time Tony Blair refused to cut fuel duties which enraged people meaning that people gathered together to blockade refineries and hold up any oil tankers attempting to leave.
It got so bad that in Scotland the Ambulance Service had to make contingency plans like stopping all non-emergency related incidents being tended to.
And in 2012 when there was a “possible” fuel crisis was back in 2012, when the ministers of coalition government urged people to fill up their tanks in anticipation of a strike by the Unite the Unions workers. And because of comments like “do the sensible thing…get a full tank of petrol, not a half tank” caused the countries petrol stations to run out quicker than expected and ques across the country.
Now in 2021, it’s the shortage of HGV drivers not the rise in fuel or lack of it. Across all industries, the lack of HGV drivers is affecting everything, from carrots, clothes to fuel. But it is not the be-all and end-all, There is a backup plan, the armed forces are being trained to help with the delivery of fuel to the petrol stations if needed at short notice and as said earlier on, a lot of us can work from home now for the time being.
So what have we learnt from not only the two previous fuel crises and the pandemic? Only two things really. Stop panicking when the news tells you that people are panic buying meaning you then feel the urge to panic buy, and two….maybe it’s time to hang up your fuel caps and go electric.
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