Small groups of English truck drivers and other demonstrators spent the weekend protesting high fuel prices outside oil refineries and bulk storage depots.
But the threatened repeat of the fuel crisis that nearly brought Great Britain to a halt last September did not materialize.
According to United Press International, the largest of the protests began Friday night at two refineries in west Wales and at Avonmouth Docks near Bristol. Elsewhere, demonstrators either failed to turn up or thinned out early. Organizers were disappointed but said they had no plans to change their tactics to draw attention to their demand for lower fuel taxes. The September blockade resulted in government concessions that brought fuel prices down a bit.
Britain is a major producer of crude oil, but taxes make the country’s gasoline and diesel fuel some of the most expensive in the world. The cost of a liter of petrol - the U.S. equivalent of $1.27 - includes 95 cents in taxes.