Petrol Supply Problems

Todds_right_hook said:

How many school leavers are encouraged to be truck drivers? They are all told to work on IT

How many parents encourage their children to be truck drivers? 

'Truck Driving' isn't a skill to be learned in school. 

I had to fill up this morning (30 miles left), and it was much busier at Sainsbury’s in Ashford than usual.

I then had to return to Sainsbury’s tonight to do my weekly food shop and the queue was nearly back to the main roundabout (a good 500m potentially?). I pulled into the International Hotel car park and walked through and the store was empty with full shelves. Potentially the best day of food shopping since the pandemic started!

Over 50,000 HGV driving tests cancelled because of COVID over the past 18 months. Massive backlog of those desperate to complete their training, Govt reduces requirements for certain aspects to speed up more tests and more drivers and usual posters claim carnage on the road as a result.

People screaming to relax the restrictions on allowing EU and overseas experienced HGV drivers coming over to assist in out "transport chaos", so they put proposals together within two weeks, but it's too little, too late and they've driven down the possible earnings of our own HGV drivers (like the construction industry) from the usual posters.

Posters moaning about the '£10 an hour' earnings HGV drivers, with nothing to back it up - and then talking about a 56 hour a day with nothing to back it up. Not only from the usual posters but those that know full well that is a load of bollocks as they've contributed to the HoC thread where an HGV driver/Addick fan from the South West has provided exactly the correct answers as to earnings (he admits himself to having a 'massive' pay rise in recent weeks) along with his legal requirement as to the hours he's allowed to work.

And to top it all, we have another usual poster moaning and groaning about queues at petrol stations solely caused by the Govt that his wife has seen today whilst she's out driving about in South London just to get some fuel - one minute Bromley, the next Eltham, with probably at least 20 petrol, stations in between. Panic buying at its worst.

I tell a lie, the worst panic buying I've heard is my ex and her hubby, filling up both their cars and some extra Jerry cans today. They're off on a weeks holiday tomorrow - by coach.

Addickted said:

Over 50,000 HGV driving tests cancelled because of COVID over the past 18 months. Massive backlog of those desperate to complete their training, Govt reduces requirements for certain aspects to speed up more tests and more drivers and usual posters claim carnage on the road as a result.

People screaming to relax the restrictions on allowing EU and overseas experienced HGV drivers coming over to assist in out "transport chaos", so they put proposals together within two weeks, but it's too little, too late and they've driven down the possible earnings of our own HGV drivers (like the construction industry) from the usual posters.

Posters moaning about the '£10 an hour' earnings HGV drivers, with nothing to back it up - and then talking about a 56 hour a day with nothing to back it up. Not only from the usual posters but those that know full well that is a load of bollocks as they've contributed to the HoC thread where an HGV driver/Addick fan from the South West has provided exactly the correct answers as to earnings (he admits himself to having a 'massive' pay rise in recent weeks) along with his legal requirement as to the hours he's allowed to work.

And to top it all, we have another usual poster moaning and groaning about queues at petrol stations solely caused by the Govt that his wife has seen today whilst she's out driving about in South London just to get some fuel - one minute Bromley, the next Eltham, with probably at least 20 petrol, stations in between. Panic buying at its worst.

I tell a lie, the worst panic buying I've heard is my ex and her hubby, filling up both their cars and some extra Jerry cans today. They're off on a weeks holiday tomorrow - by coach.

How many of those are the same person cancelled 3,4 or 5 times? 

Don't think it's 50,000 people waiting to fill the void to me. 

Wait until the backlog of driving tests  because of the same issue catches up. All those newly qualified drivers in their thousands turning our roads into chaos, crashing into lorries and HGVs.

Disappointed there haven't been more smug electric car drivers on here!

Love how many people become experts in industries when they have a political axe to grind! 

charltonkeston said:

Cafc43v3r said:

SE10Addick said:

Hal1x said:

SE10Addick said:

There is no shortage of HGV drivers in the UK.

There is/was a severe lack of drivers willing to do an often horrible job for £10 per hour.

I would be if true, but the average petrol tanker wage is £33,500, so if you were on £10 an hour it would be time to switch.

Petrol (and hazardous goods) drivers have extra training.

Petrol drivers are highly skilled aside from the physical driving. 

Highly skilled? I suppose it depends how you define skilled. To earn a decent living a driver will have to work antisocial hours, work alone and be away from home and it’s comforts. I think crap job rather than highly skilled and as such should be well paid. 
Its strange how jobs people do we took for granted have become skilled when a few years ago many would have regarded them as a step up from labouring and were content to pay them a pittance. 

I'm sure tanker driving is quite a specialist job 

I can remember when we had all the fuel strikes years back how hard it was to actually find anywhere that  had it in stock, from then on in, I’ve always tried to make sure I had a full tank of fuel before i got home, if I’d been on a long journey, in case it happened again.

Hope this doesn’t go on for too long.

Gary Poole said:

Chippycafc said:

Hal1x said:

clb74 said:

Hal1x said:

SE10Addick said:

There is no shortage of HGV drivers in the UK.

There is/was a severe lack of drivers willing to do an often horrible job for £10 per hour.

I would be if true, but the average petrol tanker wage is £33,500, so if you were on £10 an hour it would be time to switch.

How many hours do they do a week for that money?

isn't 56 still the normal max?

Said on the radio the other day average age of HGV driver is 57.

In Vietnam it was 19

This deserves more LOLs

MrWalker said:

Rothko said:

Germany has a shortage of about 10,000 drivers, not like the 100,000 one we have 

Not according to several news reports on this thread. 60,000+

Reports have estimated 40,000 to 60,000 every year in Germany alone. Not sure what they mean exacty by "every year", but it still shows a problem in Germany, none the less

ShootersHillGuru said:

So there are shortages of HGV drivers in France, Germany, Italy and Holland. The U.K. even having relaxed visa restrictions in order to satisfy our shortage will be competing with all these nations for those highly sought after Eastern European drivers. Where will I wonder be most attractive to them. The EU where they have exactly the same workers rights and protections as in their homes in Poland. The same health protections and benefits or go to the U.K. which has effectively just told them to do one. If it wasn’t so serious it would be hilarious. Personally I blame the foreign drivers for being foreign.

Itinerant workers will go to wherever earning potential is the greatest. I'm not aware that in the post Brexit world workers rights and protections have been diluted. I'd suggest that those EU workers that were based in the UK before returning home during the pandemic would be more than happy to return to the UK if it was financially beneficial to do so and if the UK deems it appropriate to change its entry rules. If German / French / Italian wages are better then they will work there. This is the market in action. If ultimately we reduce reliance on "cheap" labour, then surely society as a whole benefits? Another benefit of Brexit in action.

A plan if you need petrol/diesel

Look on AA traffic news and see by the red lines whether there is queuing traffic at your local station (or look at something else if you have a better idea).

Ring them up when no queues showing and ask if they are open & have required fuel you need (if they answer).

Fill your boots (tank).

Gribbo said:

charltonkeston said:

Cafc43v3r said:

SE10Addick said:

Hal1x said:

SE10Addick said:

There is no shortage of HGV drivers in the UK.

There is/was a severe lack of drivers willing to do an often horrible job for £10 per hour.

I would be if true, but the average petrol tanker wage is £33,500, so if you were on £10 an hour it would be time to switch.

Petrol (and hazardous goods) drivers have extra training.

Petrol drivers are highly skilled aside from the physical driving. 

Highly skilled? I suppose it depends how you define skilled. To earn a decent living a driver will have to work antisocial hours, work alone and be away from home and it’s comforts. I think crap job rather than highly skilled and as such should be well paid. 
Its strange how jobs people do we took for granted have become skilled when a few years ago many would have regarded them as a step up from labouring and were content to pay them a pittance. 

I'm sure tanker driving is quite a specialist job 

I agree it’s specialised but their employers obviously don’t value them as to call them highly skilled. Their hourly rate isn’t what I would call skilled money and that’s probably the nub of the problem. 

charltonkeston said:

Gribbo said:

charltonkeston said:

Cafc43v3r said:

SE10Addick said:

Hal1x said:

SE10Addick said:

There is no shortage of HGV drivers in the UK.

There is/was a severe lack of drivers willing to do an often horrible job for £10 per hour.

I would be if true, but the average petrol tanker wage is £33,500, so if you were on £10 an hour it would be time to switch.

Petrol (and hazardous goods) drivers have extra training.

Petrol drivers are highly skilled aside from the physical driving. 

Highly skilled? I suppose it depends how you define skilled. To earn a decent living a driver will have to work antisocial hours, work alone and be away from home and it’s comforts. I think crap job rather than highly skilled and as such should be well paid. 
Its strange how jobs people do we took for granted have become skilled when a few years ago many would have regarded them as a step up from labouring and were content to pay them a pittance. 

I'm sure tanker driving is quite a specialist job 

I agree it’s specialised but their employers obviously don’t value them as to call them highly skilled. Their hourly rate isn’t what I would call skilled money and that’s probably the nub of the problem. 

Yeah, I obviously don't mean in comparison to nuclear phsicists, but in the haulage community, I think tanker drivers are well thought of and are paid better than the usual tramper drivers.

We used ot have Beck & Politzer drivers come into my depot over Bow and I remember a couple of them were waiting to be put on the course to deliver hazardous materials in tankers

ShootersHillGuru said:

Gribbo said:

ShootersHillGuru said:

So there are shortages of HGV drivers in France, Germany, Italy and Holland. The U.K. even having relaxed visa restrictions in order to satisfy our shortage will be competing with all these nations for those highly sought after Eastern European drivers. Where will I wonder be most attractive to them. The EU where they have exactly the same workers rights and protections as in their homes in Poland. The same health protections and benefits or go to the U.K. which has effectively just told them to do one. If it wasn’t so serious it would be hilarious. Personally I blame the foreign drivers for being foreign.

lol If you want to spin it that way, feel free mate. I'm just pointing out that, even if this "petrol shortage" is down to a lack of drivers,the problem seems to be Worldwide, let alone Europewide. (although, apparently there isn't a petrol shortage at all,  it's just people emptying pumps because they're panic buying the selfish c****). 

Not sure why you think my post funny. What part particularly made you laugh. I would say I’m 100% accurate?

Because you’ve gone off on a crazy ol tangent when all I was doing was pointing out that any HGV driver shortages in the UK seem to be reflected throughout Europe, so it doesn’t look like it has anything to do with Brexit. I’ve also said that there a noticeable signs  of distribution problems on the shelves in supermarkets here which, to me, also suggests the problem is not Brexit related.