a few years ago, I think it was about 10 years ago, we had a fuel "protest" in the UK, the refineries in the south of England were blocked off and nothing was getting in or out. food in the shops was not getting replaced and the shelves were getting empty, bread and milk were the first to go. petrol filling stations ran out of fuel within 24-48 hours and people were panicking. the stupid thing about this is: 1, it only lasted 1 week and 2, it was announced well in advance so nobody could say they weren't warned. I had a full tank of fuel(I always fill up when it gets to half....old prepper trick!) and we got in extra supplies before the protests began, and we just sat back and waited.
My vehicle is dual fuel LPG 90l and petrol 90l My petrol tank is always within 10l of full and lpg is always available! but usually topped up from over half! I get 6km per litre of lpg on long trips if I take it easy and about 8km per litre of petrol taking it easy! Lpg runs a lot cheaper!
This is human psychology in its element. Its weird that people rush to stock up for Christmas and other holidays planning everything to great detail but when it comes to near life and death issues, procrastination is the norm. People have a fatalistic view of life in certain circumstances but they will always look for a scapegoat. Such self sabotage is common due to a queer sense of scepticism. There seems to be an adrenaline kick in some people when doing things at the last minute.
I think everyone reacts differently. Some people might just be in shock because they just don't want to believe it when they hear something like that and therefore they just don't react "correctly" until they realize "Oh, this is really happening. I have to do something!" because there is no escape. Other people might have a better sense of reality and take the preparation more seriously. I think I would have stashed some food and drinks to the side but in the end might not store enough because I would not be able to think straight in terms of estimating how much we would really need for that one week. On the other hand, I can imagine that some people over exaggerate and are in a constant frantic "apocalypse is near-mode."
I could bet those people that neglected the warning, due to overconfidence and a misleading thought of living inside a comfort barrier . In the other hand, they are right about it too. That shortages happen in a developed country even for few days is unacceptable.
My parents have always followed that rule. If you never let it below half you never have to worry. Unfortunately as a young adult I understand where this could be more difficult. I'm still earning my money and establishing a life. I do practice saving money, but I could understand some people being under prepared. I would use the week notice at my advantage to co-plan with my parent or someone who was a little more "able".
this was as a result of a protest group, I think it was organised by South West farmers over the then price of fuel. it was well advertised in advance so nobody could say they weren't warned. if they didn't know about it they must have been on another planet or deaf, dumb and blind!
I learned that lesson 40 years ago when I let the fuel tank of my car run dry, getting fuel wasn't a problem but starting the engine again took some doing. there is always some "muck" in the bottom of the petrol tank and refuelling stirs this up, refuelling from empty is the worse thing you can do, but people never learn no matter how much you tell them. never did it with my motorcycles so why do it with a car?
