Petrol Queues.

Well yes, they do, although I think the blame for what's coming is on far more shoulders than a brexit voter.

Like I said, in part our UK shortage is down to brexit, roughly a quarter of the total we're missing is due to European drivers, but as this article clearly points out, Germany themselves are too having major issues with driver shortages, as are France, both actually with shortages to similar levels to us.

So whilst this article paints the picture of Poland being ok and talks about everything from a brexit standpoint (clearly it's intent), it fails to point out the biggest contribution to the issue.

Lockdown strategy & covid restrictions on work places.

In the UK, as in other European countries, everything was stopped.

Reduced training, reduced lessons, reduced tests, reduced issuing of licenses. In fact 25000 fewer licences year on year

https://www.aphc.co.uk/news/the-hgv-driver-shortage-whats-being-done/

Even the DVLA slowed to a crawl, in fact the majority of those anxiety riddled staff (blame SAGE) resisted returning to work for ages, most not at any risk at all, but they all hung to the coat tail of a couple of colleagues with underlying conditions and it took ages to get the main workforce back and running efficiently. Loads of news articles focused on the couple of employees with a genuine concern, but the main bulk of staff resisted returning to work for quite some time on mass

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/coronavirus-dvla-staff-working-swansea-17994744

Anyway, driving licences & lessons are only a tiny part of the big picture

The point is all the decisions made by the UK government & unopposed by every other UK political party, all cowardly hiding behind the consistently incorrect projections by their 'covid only' SAGE committee, well it's all helped cause this & much more.

It's the same story globally with most leaders following suit, all using over cautious lockdown strategys & implemented with zero evidence or experience in their use. All in gold plated public sector jobs unaffected.

And for what reason? because China did it, a country renowned for totalitarian rule and monitoring of citizens, all riled and considered abhorrent prior to covid. But now it's ok apparently....go figure the fickle

Shipping costs have absolutely rocketed. Nothing to do with brexit and if anyone says different then they're either lying or they're not as experienced as they profess to be.

March / April 2020 container costs for us were $1900 from China, Korea & Thailand, and roughly the same from Bangladesh and India (give or take)

By November 2020 that $1900 had increased to $8800

By February / March 2021 they rose to $13000 from China, although Bangladesh has receded a bit down to $5000

Why?

Covid lockdown strategies.

This broadly explains it -

https://www.hillebrand.com/media/pu...-the-containers-the-global-shortage-explained


Everything is going up in price, everything.

A combination of out of control shipping costs and raw material hikes will hit nearly every single product that needs importing or has component parts that needs importing.

So what's my point?

Everyone who screamed for lock down, those type who actually enjoyed furlough as though it had no consequence, those champagne socialists working from home on their laptops eager to look virtuous refused to see past covid and consider the knock on implications of such broad economic restrictions. Together they've all encouraged & bought on the biggest pricing shit storm the world has ever seen.

So not only will everyone see price increases on most imported goods in the short to medium term, but all those low to middle income earners are going to get hammered from April 2022 in massive NIS tax increases.

I said it from the very beginning of this facade.

The majority of people who will take the biggest impact of the covid economic restrictions will be those who were struggling already. It's the youth who've lost education, it's the lowly paid who'll feel the pinch of escalating costs across the board and even worse the people who have genuine life threatening health issues, or those yet to be diagnosed. The reality is they're now faced with a massively under performing health service which wastes incomprehensible amounts of money and the kick in the teeth is they're going to be paying even more towards it as of April 2022

So yes, I broadly agree, people need to take a long hard look at themselves

 

Trouble is over the last 20’something months, the experts have made themselves look like wankers as well

 

I just chucked 118 quids worth of super in the Aston. Was surprise nobody rationed me as there is literally no fuel in Kent. It’s a right shit show

 

I’m really good for ages and then one day boom. Nothing.

same goes with the refrigerator. It’s either poverty or enough to feed the entire British military

 

Where do you live again? House number and postcode would be great. Asking for a friend.

 

I wouldn’t bother. I used half of it getting back home mate

Courtesy of mpg likened to the space shuttle.

edit: cancel last. The Aston is worse

 

Ageed.
I generally speaking I have no problem with 'expert' medical advice.. There's a lot of it about.
It's the politicizing, monetizing and weaponizing of the advice that disturbs me.

 

Spot on as always old bean

 

“All because of BP”?

Not really BP’s fault though, apparently Sainsbury's stole all their drivers, according to the MSM......

 

It's once again the media reporting a story they've created.

BP closed a couple of sites, literally a handful out of hundreds.

As usual, Sky, The BBC and the rest omitted the original details on the follow up pieces and whipped the easily lead into a panic

MSN doing what they do, bending the truth and omitting facts

 

Google is full of irrelevant links so struggling to find something definitive and authoritative but domestic storage of fuel is legally limited to 30 litres of fuel spread between 2 x 10 litre metal jerry cans and 2 x 5 litre plastic jerry cans. Service stations can have their own rules and my local Shell will not allow you to fill more than 2 x 5 litre plastic cans OR 1 x 10 litre metal can on one visit (a pre madness restriction), unless you run a business using machine tools like a chain saw, lawn mower or road roller. Andy

 

Not at all enforced. I fill up BIG Jerry cans on a regular basis and often many of them. Never once been questioned

 

This HGV alleged driver issue is not a recent thing and its fk all to do with Brexit.

I passed my HGV tests and drove for more than a few years, several years ago. My plan was to do a few years driving, then get a better job but keep the HGV licence on for some part time HGV work when I retired from my main job.

Parts 1 and 2 of the plan worked fine, but the government (starting about 20 years ago) made it really difficult to retain an HGV licence. I basically had enough jumping through hoop after hoop and just let it lapse.

It needed me to do continued re-training and assessment. A procedure that stood to cost me 1500 quid or more every 3 years, even to keep a non-vocational licence. On top of that were mandatory medicals that were costing anywhere between free and 300 quid too.

I let go purely because of those regs meaning I had to continually renew and retrain, even when I was working in a different industry.

They would not let anyone 'park' the licence and then retrain before going back employed. It all had to be done irrespective. That was just insane.

I know lots of ex HGV drivers that did similar to me and packed in, but that was two decades ago or more ago.

Brexit has less than fk all to do with a shortage that has been steadily growing since the mid 90's. If the issue had been tackled 25/30 years ago and some common sense applied, there would never have been any issues now.

Believe me, the last thing you want on our roads are lots of foreign drivers, especially in left hookers.

There are no fuel issues beyond all the cretins that actually go nowhere but are all filling up their cars to park up back at home. Maybe a mandatory minimum 35 quid filling charge should be adopted to deter these (cars and vans) fkwits from topping up and filling up when they really dont need to.

 

I would have thought almost impossible to enforce. However, pigeons come home to roost, a near neighbour had a caravan fire when it was parked alongside the side of his house. No-one could prove if it was arson or carelessness but about 20 camping gas cylinders and several cans of petrol stored under the caravan made for a very intense fire. Subsequent SOCO investigation resulted in a prosecution. F**kwit doesn't learn, when his house finally got repaired, he parked a new caravan outside his back door with 2 x 4.5kg gas containers in the caravan's front locker. Andy

 

My gixxer will use near 40 litres on a track day alone !