The famous British phlegm put to the test of the long queues in front of the service stations. In London, the traffic suffers. The cause is a shortage of fuel linked to a lack of truck drivers to transport it. The situation has been going on for several days, with the first stations being forced to close and the fear of running out has prompted more and more motorists to refuel.
Some ended up really dry. “My car is parked 4 km away. I called the gas stations all morning, no one answered“, testifies this Londoner.
This tail began to form when a tanker was seen filling the pumps, announcing the reopening of this station. The news spread causing chaos.
“We’ve been stuck here for an hour, we only walked 100 meters“, said this motorist.
“It’s clogged up everywhere, we’re literally stuck, we’re wasting our time, it’s a nightmare “, testifies this other driver.
Despite everything, the authorities and motorist associations believe that the crisis will subside on its own. “A few shortages at a few gas stations caused a big story, panic buying started over the weekend, and then stations across the country ran out of fuel. Retailers are already getting deliveries and I think within days the fuel will be available. Many have purchased outside of their usual routine so they will not need it for a while“said Simon Williams of the Royal Automobile Club.
The shortage of truck drivers has been going on for several months because of the pandemic and Brexit combined. In search of a solution, London has resolved to amend its post-Brexit immigration policy. The government has granted more than 10,000 three-month work visas to address the shortage of truckers. But many doubt that this is enough.
“The government, industry and motorists’ associations believe the crisis will subside when people stop panic buying. And some warn that the shortage of truck drivers, which is partly to blame, will have far more unpleasant consequences when winter arrives.“, concludes our correspondent Tadhg Enright.
Reference-feedproxy.google.com