Officers revealed on Twitter that when they arrived at a station forecourt on Sunday night they could not refuel their police vehicle, meaning they could not effectively conduct rural patrols and were forced to resort to a bicycle to get around.

The Government has announced it will suspend competition law to help secure fuel deliveries to petrol stations across the country.

It follows days of long queues at station forecourts after fears of disruption to the supply chain sparked panic buying.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: "We have long-standing contingency plans in place to work with industry so that fuel supplies can be maintained and deliveries can still be made in the event of a serious disruption.

"While there has always been and continues to be plenty of fuel at refineries and terminals, we are aware that there have been some issues with supply chains. This is why we will enact the Downstream Oil Protocol to ensure industry can share vital information and work together more effectively to ensure disruption is minimised."

Ministers are also considering using the Army to help deliver fuel to help combat a chronic shortage of HGV drivers.

The Government has announced a temporary visa scheme that will see 5,000 HGV drivers allowed into the UK on three-month contracts up to Christmas Eve in an attempt to tackle fuel delivery difficulties.

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/crime/yorkshire-police-officers-forced-to-conduct-rural-patrols-on-bicycle-due-to-lack-of-fuel-3398471

Is there noticeably less traffic on the roads?

Maybe we can do this in the U.S.

> Officers revealed on Twitter that when they arrived at a station forecourt on Sunday night they could not refuel their police vehicle, meaning they could not effectively conduct rural patrols and were forced to resort to a bicycle to get around.
>
> The Government has announced it will suspend competition law to help secure fuel deliveries to petrol stations across the country.
>
> It follows days of long queues at station forecourts after fears of disruption to the supply chain sparked panic buying.
>
> Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: "We have long-standing contingency plans in place to work with industry so that fuel supplies can be maintained and deliveries can still be made in the event of a serious disruption.
>
> "While there has always been and continues to be plenty of fuel at refineries and terminals, we are aware that there have been some issues with supply chains. This is why we will enact the Downstream Oil Protocol to ensure industry can share vital information and work together more effectively to ensure disruption is minimised."
>
> Ministers are also considering using the Army to help deliver fuel to help combat a chronic shortage of HGV drivers.
>
> The Government has announced a temporary visa scheme that will see 5,000 HGV drivers allowed into the UK on three-month contracts up to Christmas Eve in an attempt to tackle fuel delivery difficulties.
>
>
> https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/crime/yorkshire-police-officers-forced-to-conduct-rural-patrols-on-bicycle-due-to-lack-of-fuel-3398471

On Tuesday, September 28, 2021 at 4:24:01 PM UTC+1, bretc...@aol.com wrote:
> Is there noticeably less traffic on the roads?

Yes, there is a lot less motor traffic on the roads as people are very careful about using what little fuel there is about. Luckily, I live a few miles away from two big oil refineries (there are only seven in the UK) and there is a local Jet station that has plenty of fuel, albeit only £30 worth.

>
> Maybe we can do this in the U.S.

> >
> > https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/crime/yorkshire-police-officers-forced-to-conduct-rural-patrols-on-bicycle-due-to-lack-of-fuel-3398471

On 28/09/2021 05:20 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> On Tuesday, September 28, 2021 at 4:24:01 PM UTC+1, bretc...@aol.com wrote:
>> Is there noticeably less traffic on the roads?
>
> Yes, there is a lot less motor traffic on the roads as people are very careful about using what little fuel there is about. Luckily, I live a few miles away from two big oil refineries (there are only seven in the UK) and there is a local Jet station that has plenty of fuel, albeit only £30 worth.

It can't be much fun for you that other people living in the vicinity
are equally as well served by the Jet garage you mention.

So why is that "lucky" for you? After all, you don't believe in the
freedom to travel (except for yourself, it seems).

Unless, of course, you're just a hypocrite (a possibility I throw in
merely for discussion).

> >> Is there noticeably less traffic on the roads?
> >
> > Yes, there is a lot less motor traffic on the roads as people are very careful about using what little fuel there is about. Luckily, I live a few miles away from two big oil refineries (there are only seven in the UK) and there is a local Jet station that has plenty of fuel, albeit only £30 worth.
> It can't be much fun for you that other people living in the vicinity
> are equally as well served by the Jet garage you mention.
>
> So why is that "lucky" for you? After all, you don't believe in the
> freedom to travel (except for yourself, it seems).
>
> Unless, of course, you're just a hypocrite (a possibility I throw in
> merely for discussion).

The UK has been making great progress getting off carbon and I wonder if motorists will be over joyed to get back to burning carbon mired in traffic. Maybe there's some hidden motive to keep the pumps dry. Where there's a will there's a way. It just isn't necessarily the best way.

Something similar with food service in the U. S. post pandemic. Customers may have learned to cook but I think they find a lot of pre virus activities disappointing now. Maybe they never really liked them all that much in the first place and needed some time to think about it. No one wants to work those jobs anymore either.

All these supply chain issues sometimes make it seem the entire planet has retired and cannot even unload ships anymore. Every thing must be rethought from scratch -- hard to get to work economically.

Tocqueville said everyone would be miserable after an outbreak of libertaria comes to an end and that's probably what's going on now.

I mostly quit caffeinated coffee 6 months ago but went back before a ride last week. The gravel bike felt down hill with the wind both ways. I had to pay attention to ruts and sand traps as with real downhill -- a good way to prevent Alzheimer's. I took a long way back for no reason.

Much slower yesterday w/ decaf but more pleasant.

On 29/09/2021 03:29, Bret Cahill wrote:

> Maybe there's some hidden motive to keep the pumps dry.
> Where there's a will there's a way. It just isn't necessarily the
> best way.

The fuel companies have a glut of summer fuel and had to devise a way of
shifting it to make way for the winter grade.