In the second week of September 2000 protests against the high price of
petrol brought widespread chaos to Wales.
Protester (mainly farmers and road hauliers) blocked facilities at Pembroke
dock preventing tankers from delivering to petrol stations. Within days
transport was severly disrupted as panic buying exhausted supplies. Even
emergency services had difficulty coping as doctors, nurses and other
essential staff encountered difficulty obtaining petrol in order to reach
work. Schools in Rhondda Cynon Taff closed for four days.
Protesters demanded a reduction in the tax on petrol but offered no solutions
as to where else taxes could be raised, nor how the environmental or climatic
effects of increased car use can be combatted.
In urban areas pedestrians are more likely to die. Figures for 1999 released
by Transport for London show that pedestrians account for the majority of
traffic accident fatalities (134 out of 262 - 51%). Car drivers and
passengers accounted for 56 deaths (21%). Of the remaining categories,
motor cyclists were the most likely to be killed. (20%).
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This page was last updated on 5 November 2000 __________
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