Why Has Britain Run Out of Petrol?

Automologist MAC gives us the lead-up to last weekend’s phenomenon. 

In a country that is still in the top twenty of global oil producers, it may seem strange to see long lines of cars at filling stations. But that is what is happening right now in the UK as the country’s gas stations run dry. In the land that created BP and Shell, both of those companies are reporting that as many as a third of their stations are out of gas entirely and the others are running low – very low, in fact, as panic-buying has spread throughout the country.

Lines of cars can be seen stretching out from most filling stations, even those without petrol, as motorists are willing to wait sometimes for hours just on the off-chance that some petrol may arrive. The low supply and panic-buying have even prompted the government to suspend competition laws and allow refining firms to work together to get the supplies out there. The situation is so bad that British PM, Boris Johnson, is considering mobilising the army to ease the crisis.

The reason for the shortage though is not a lack of fuel but the ability to get the fuel to the stations. Yes, there are not enough truck drivers. According to the UK Road Haulage Association, in the past year, roughly 70,000 Heavy Goods Vehicle Drivers have left the industry and they say that the industry is currently in a crisis with a shortage of about 100,000 drivers to meet the demand. Of course, the pandemic and Brexit are being blamed and it may be correct. The pandemic basically shut down all of the HGV Test centres, leading to more than 30,000 tests being cancelled and after Brexit, the National Statistics Office reported that at least 20,000 European Drivers left the country.

The UK Government is trying to entice as many as 5,000 of the European drivers back, offering temporary visas for the three months before Christmas, along with trying to entice retired drivers back onto the roads for a while. In the long term, there is a problem. HGV drivers in the UK are greying with an average age of 55 and less than 1% under 25. Within the next few years, as many as 33% of them will be reaching retirement age and the appeal of a life on the open road is just not inspiring the young to replace them in big enough numbers rapidly enough.

This problem is not just in the UK. Both Poland and Germany have similar shortfalls in driver numbers, so perhaps Brexit is not so much the cause but poor working conditions and low pay have more to do with it. Still, netizens have been able to find the funny side of this. Perhaps my favourite is a slightly risqué one that combines the current border crisis in the UK with the lack of truck drivers. You decide if it is a little close to the bone.