Thursday 14th September 2000

Fuel protests in the UK began to end. Several blockades of refineries were still in operation and the first deliveries were sent to designated distribution points under the emergency powers obtained by the government. The protesters said that they were giving the government sixty days to act on the issue or they would protest further. A planned protest by truck drivers in London was contained by the Metropolitan Police and did not cause disruption. A later report following an analysis of the automated counting equipment on the road network the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions showed that at the protest’s peak, 14 September, car flows on UK motorways was 39% below normal levels and on major roads 25% below. However for road haulage the numbers showed a smaller decline of 13% on both motorways and major roads.