Oil crisis:

Queues at petrol stations may be a chilling taste of things to come. Prices are soaring, experts warn of shortages ahead, and some say the world is running out of fuel. Already people are getting out of their cars and finding other ways to travel, while less scrupulous drivers are stealing diesel. Has the motor car just stalled – or are our driving habits changing for ever?

Last Thursday evening, Shafna Chowdhury was visited by a gloomy portent of things to come. Following weeks of dire warnings of soaring oil prices presaging a bleak future in which petrol shortages and queues at the pumps are never far away, Chowdhury, 31, was forced to drive to six different service stations before she could fill up her Mercedes coupe.

Guardian