Motorists in some areas are struggling to find petrol and diesel as there are high prices and shortages at pumps across the UK ahead of the Easter bank holiday weekend.
Eco protesters like Just Stop Oil activists have targeted some fuel supply lines by blocking oil tankers.
It is a difficult time for motorists as the cost of living crisis isn't helped by fuel price rises and shortages, so a few handy hacks to find petrol and diesel may be welcome.
Despite this, the forecasted warm weather for this weekend could mean there are a few extra hopeful beachgoers making trips in what is already one of the busiest points in the year.
With drivers hoping to avoid long queues, here are the best ways to prepare ahead of this weekend.
How can I find petrol near me?
Drivers going in search of petrol and diesel should check Google Maps before they set off.
Maps has a handy feature in which you can search for the nearest petrol station to you and see how busy it is by a bar chart presented to you.
The busier it is, the higher the bar and this may indicate that the station is being well-used because it has fuel.
Compare it to other petrol stations near you and if some are empty but on a busy road, they may be the ones to avoid.
This doesn't take into account things like the local population, how busy the roads are at a given time of day and how popular the stations are. You could go to a busier station and still find there is no fuel available.
Due to the nature of pump shortages, it is not always clear which pumps will be affected by a stopped oil tanker not reaching its destination.
How busy will the Easter bank holiday be?
The Easter bank holiday weekend for 2022 could be one of the busiest in years, with over 21 million trips reported to be planned over the four-day weekend.
Good weather and the first bank holiday since all Covid restrictions lifted could mean long queues across the country.
RAC spokesperson Rod Dennis said: "After two years of relatively quiet Easter bank holidays on the roads, our research suggests a return to traffic levels that are much more typical of this time of year, and it’s very possible this weekend could turn out to be one of the busiest for leisure journeys for many years."
Disruption to rail networks and airports is also possible, making the problems worse.
Mr Dennis added: "Add in the impact of disruption on the rail network and one of the biggest fixtures of the sporting calendar taking place this weekend and you have all the ingredients needed for problems on the roads. Traffic volumes will likely be even higher if some warm spring sunshine makes an appearance."
However, the high petrol and diesel prices could put people off from travelling at all.
Why are petrol prices so high?
Petrol prices are high due to a range of factors, but mainly due to high global demand.
Demand was already high before the war in Ukraine broke out and in response to Russia's attack on a sovereign nation, countries announced sanctions against Vladimir Putin's Kremlin, including commitments to turn away from Russian fuel and gas.
This is less of a problem in the UK, which gets around 8% of its fuel from Russia and has not said it will phase out Russian energy by the end of the year.
Mainland Europe is another matter - with more direct links to Russia, some countries like Germany are far more reliant on Russian energy, making it harder for them to phase it out.
If Germany turns its back on Russian energy, where it gets around a third of its oil supply, then it will have to compete more on the global market with the likes of the UK for fuel, pushing up prices as demand increases.
In order to try to alleviate some other price chaos, Chancellor Rishi Sunak cut fuel duty tax by 5p in his recent spring budget.
However, a reported failure by forecourts to pass on the cut to consumers has angered some and some have been accused of creaming off the top of a needed dip in prices for the everyday Brit.
Petrol prices were already rising before the war in Ukraine broke out, which only made the situation worse. There were large queues seen last year as people struggled to find fuel in September 2021.
