Oregon ends its 72-year ban on self-service gasoline

[ZLoth]

From AutoBlog:

Oregon ends its 72-year ban on self-service gasoline
You can pump your own, but the state will still require attendants as an option

If you've visited Oregon (as I am currently), you have likely had the moment of cognitive dissonance in which you hop out of your vehicle at a gas station to fill your tank just as you do anywhere else, then discover (or remember) that you must yield the pump handle to an earnest or sometimes surly gas station attendant who intercepts you and really doesn't want you stealing their job.

That's about to change. Oregon lawmakers last week gave final approval to a bill that ends the state's ban on self-service gas pumps, a prohibition that has been in place since 1951. The change will take affect ASAP after Gov. Tina Kotek signs the bill into law. The Oregonian newspaper says this leaves New Jersey as the only state remaining to require gas station attendants.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[texaskdog]

From AutoBlog:

Oregon ends its 72-year ban on self-service gasoline
You can pump your own, but the state will still require attendants as an option

If you've visited Oregon (as I am currently), you have likely had the moment of cognitive dissonance in which you hop out of your vehicle at a gas station to fill your tank just as you do anywhere else, then discover (or remember) that you must yield the pump handle to an earnest or sometimes surly gas station attendant who intercepts you and really doesn't want you stealing their job.

That's about to change. Oregon lawmakers last week gave final approval to a bill that ends the state's ban on self-service gas pumps, a prohibition that has been in place since 1951. The change will take affect ASAP after Gov. Tina Kotek signs the bill into law. The Oregonian newspaper says this leaves New Jersey as the only state remaining to require gas station attendants.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Sad because most people are too stupid to pump gas

[kalvado]

Major fires, highway crashes, many other problems are to come. Look at I-95 in Philadelphia. Would that tanker even be there if self service gas was banned?

[vdeane]

From AutoBlog:

Oregon ends its 72-year ban on self-service gasoline
You can pump your own, but the state will still require attendants as an option

If you've visited Oregon (as I am currently), you have likely had the moment of cognitive dissonance in which you hop out of your vehicle at a gas station to fill your tank just as you do anywhere else, then discover (or remember) that you must yield the pump handle to an earnest or sometimes surly gas station attendant who intercepts you and really doesn't want you stealing their job.

That's about to change. Oregon lawmakers last week gave final approval to a bill that ends the state's ban on self-service gas pumps, a prohibition that has been in place since 1951. The change will take affect ASAP after Gov. Tina Kotek signs the bill into law. The Oregonian newspaper says this leaves New Jersey as the only state remaining to require gas station attendants.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Sad because most people are too stupid to pump gas

Sad?  My experience with NJ is that most stations are understaffed, so you're waiting on the attendant and it takes twice as long.  They usually don't use the thing to hold the gas cap and just leave it dangling and hitting the paint.  They often try to "top off" rather than just finishing when it clicks off (especially if you're just getting your tank to full for some reason, not refiling because you're already below half, an attendant on Long Island got confused when I did that and kept trying to force gas in even after the pump clicked off several times).  They pull the gas handle out so fast that I'm sure they left a drop or two of gas there.  Plus I always clean my windshield when I get gas, and I always feel like I'm imposing if I ask the attendant to do it (especially if it's busy, which is usually, because New Jersey), assuming I even have an opportunity.

Needless to say, I avoid full-service gas where possible.

[Max Rockatansky]

Good riddance, it was an unnecessary waste of time dealing with an attendant whenever I was in the state. 

[Henry]

I hate having to wait for attendants too. And most of them are rude and will not give you the time of day.

[jeffandnicole]

From AutoBlog:

Oregon ends its 72-year ban on self-service gasoline
You can pump your own, but the state will still require attendants as an option

If you've visited Oregon (as I am currently), you have likely had the moment of cognitive dissonance in which you hop out of your vehicle at a gas station to fill your tank just as you do anywhere else, then discover (or remember) that you must yield the pump handle to an earnest or sometimes surly gas station attendant who intercepts you and really doesn't want you stealing their job.

That's about to change. Oregon lawmakers last week gave final approval to a bill that ends the state's ban on self-service gas pumps, a prohibition that has been in place since 1951. The change will take affect ASAP after Gov. Tina Kotek signs the bill into law. The Oregonian newspaper says this leaves New Jersey as the only state remaining to require gas station attendants.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Sad because most people are too stupid to pump gas

Sad?  My experience with NJ is that most stations are understaffed, so you're waiting on the attendant and it takes twice as long.  They usually don't use the thing to hold the gas cap and just leave it dangling and hitting the paint.  They often try to "top off" rather than just finishing when it clicks off (especially if you're just getting your tank to full for some reason, not refiling because you're already below half, an attendant on Long Island got confused when I did that and kept trying to force gas in even after the pump clicked off several times).  They pull the gas handle out so fast that I'm sure they left a drop or two of gas there.  Plus I always clean my windshield when I get gas, and I always feel like I'm imposing if I ask the attendant to do it (especially if it's busy, which is usually, because New Jersey), assuming I even have an opportunity.

Needless to say, I avoid full-service gas where possible.

Other than the topping off, all is true.  I've noticed lately that the majority of attendants aren't topping off the fuel like had been common in the past. For me, I use the Fuelly app to measure my fuel mileage, and that topping off would mess up the figures (albeit not by much). 

A lot of New Jerseyians, in their quest to keep full service, will say how attendants provide employment.  From what I can tell, the turnover is extremely high as I rarely see the same person twice.  I'm sure being outdoors around gas pumps for hours on end in various weather conditions, filling up cars with exhaust problems, loud mufflers and other issues is not the healthiest job one can have.   

In self-serve states, nearly every pump will be open at all times.  But in NJ, if an attendant goes on break, or doesn't show up, that's usually 4 pumps that will be closed off since no one can staff them.  And the attendant doesn't know each and every car.  Often times, they won't tighten the cap as much as they should, because some cars now only require a quick turn of the cap, not several rotations to put it on properly.

NJ, being a high tax state, people tend to move out of the state after they retire, or whenever they can get a job elsewhere.   I've yet to hear one person say they moved back to the state because they couldn't stand pumping their own fuel.  These people, living in the state for decades, probably realized in two weeks that pumping their own gas really isn't that big of a deal.  And I wonder if they ever went on vacation and had to fuel up on the road, or get a rental car.  Surely they had to pump gas before.

[gonealookin]

Good riddance, it was an unnecessary waste of time dealing with an attendant whenever I was in the state. 

I usually paid higher prices to fill up in Yreka or Alturas just to avoid one additional episode of this irritation.

Good riddance is right.

[1995hoo]

Regarding the comments from vdeane and jeffandnicole about topping off, I have not bought gas in New Jersey in over 20 years, but I wonder, do they have the "clean air" nozzles on their gas pumps? Here in Northern Virginia, within the past ten years a fair number of gas pumps have been of a design that's supposed to reduce the amount of escaping vapors and they generally have an admonition, either on the pump itself or on a sticker attached to the machine, that tells you (among other things) not to top off. A lot of people dislike these pumps because they have a sort of "collar" that covers the gas tank opening and you sort of have to lock it into place (see image below), which means you can't just pull the pump out when you're done. (Many stations seem to be phasing these out, but I've noticed that even the nozzles that are not of this design still have the "DO NOT TOP OFF" admonition printed on the handle.)

So it makes me wonder whether the New Jersey attendants vdeane and jeffandnicole mention might be using those sorts of pumps.

This is the sort of sticker I'm referring to:

[kphoger]

They often try to "top off" rather than just finishing when it clicks off

Do you tell them not to?  In Mexico, where all gas stations are full service, I simply tell the pump jockey to only fill it until the pump clicks off–and not to top it off after that.  Occasionally one forgets my instructions, but most remember just fine.

[CtrlAltDel]

While I admit having mandatory fuel attendants is weird, I have never had any particular issues buying gas in Oregon or New Jersey.

[epzik8]

Sad because most people are too stupid to pump gas

Zoolander is only a movie.

[abefroman329]

The only times I top off any more are the times when I'm renting a car and know the rental company is gonna charge me for every drop of gas they can squeeze in after I drop it off. I certainly don't need to think about rounding up to the nearest whole dollar when I'm not paying cash.

[kphoger]

The only times I top off any more are the times when I'm renting a car and know the rental company is gonna charge me for every drop of gas they can squeeze in after I drop it off. I certainly don't need to think about rounding up to the nearest whole dollar when I'm not paying cash.

On our Mexico trips, I'm usually paying cash for all expenses, and I still don't top off.  When I go back inside for change, I just end up with some coins as well as bills, no big deal.  This is my usual practice because it's the simplest way I can think of to make my fuel economy log somewhat reliable:  even though I suspect different pumps click off at different full-ness-es, I figure it's as good a constant as any.

[hbelkins]

I almost always top off to round to the next dollar. Or at least the next quarter-dollar. Doesn't matter if it's $N.07 or $N.97. I will most often round to the next whole dollar, but occasionally will stop at 25, 50, or 75 cents.

[Max Rockatansky]

Sad because most people are too stupid to pump gas

Zoolander is only a movie.

I take it you've never given anyone Blue Steel?

[RoadWarrior56]

That is good news, if true.  My daughter lives in Oregon, and the first time I visited that state, I saw how ridiculous their system is.  It wasn't like the old full-service stations of my childhood.  I still had to pay at the pump for my fuel, but I then had to hand the pump to this person standing around.  It was awkward and cumbersome, and made no sense.  I almost drove across the Columbia River to Washington State just so I could pump my own gas and not have to put up with that B.S.

[kphoger]

I saw how ridiculous their system is.  It wasn't like the old full-service stations of my childhood.  I still had to pay at the pump for my fuel, but I then had to hand the pump to this person standing around.  It was awkward and cumbersome, and made no sense.

Oh wow, really?  At least in Mexico, the pump jockey handles payment.  No need to even get out of your car at all.

[kalvado]

I saw how ridiculous their system is.  It wasn't like the old full-service stations of my childhood.  I still had to pay at the pump for my fuel, but I then had to hand the pump to this person standing around.  It was awkward and cumbersome, and made no sense.

Oh wow, really?  At least in Mexico, the pump jockey handles payment.  No need to even get out of your car at all.

There is a school of thought that any time credit card leaves owner hands and sight, there is a risk for card data to be compromised. I am a bit reluctant to do that at restaurants, but that is sort of acceptable. Although pay at the table becomes more common.  Call me paranoiac, but I would hesitate to hand over my card to someone abroad. And I rarely have enough cash for a full tank on me (at least if I am close to home)

[kphoger]

There is a school of thought that any time credit card leaves owner hands and sight, there is a risk for card data to be compromised. I am a bit reluctant to do that at restaurants, but that is sort of acceptable. Although pay at the table becomes more common.  Call me paranoiac, but I would hesitate to hand over my card to someone abroad. And I rarely have enough cash for a full tank on me (at least if I am close to home)

Oh, totally.  My best friend has only lived in Mexico for a few years now, and he's had gas stations double-charge or fraud-charge his card on multiple occasions during that time.  It's a big red flag when you weren't even in that town on that date.

As I said, I try to go cash-only while I'm there.  That's one of the reasons.

[1995hoo]

There is a school of thought that any time credit card leaves owner hands and sight, there is a risk for card data to be compromised. I am a bit reluctant to do that at restaurants, but that is sort of acceptable. Although pay at the table becomes more common.  Call me paranoiac, but I would hesitate to hand over my card to someone abroad. And I rarely have enough cash for a full tank on me (at least if I am close to home)

Oh, totally.  My best friend has only lived in Mexico for a few years now, and he's had gas stations double-charge or fraud-charge his card on multiple occasions during that time.  It's a big red flag when you weren't even in that town on that date...

I've also been told that it's important in Mexico to watch the pump to make sure the attendant resets it to zero before he starts pumping gas and to say "cero, por favor" if he fails to do so. That hasn't been a problem whenever I've gotten gas in Mexico (Cozumel and Playa del Carmen) because they had newer pumps that reset when the attendant lifted the handle to turn the pump on, but maybe elsewhere in less highly touristed areas they have older pumps that work differently.

[kphoger]

I've also been told that it's important in Mexico to watch the pump to make sure the attendant resets it to zero before he starts pumping gas and to say "cero, por favor" if he fails to do so. That hasn't been a problem whenever I've gotten gas in Mexico (Cozumel and Playa del Carmen) because they had newer pumps that reset when the attendant lifted the handle to turn the pump on, but maybe elsewhere in less highly touristed areas they have older pumps that work differently.

I've read that multiple times as well, although I've never personally seen a pump that wasn't reset to zero first.  But I'd say somewhere around one-third of all pump jockeys I've dealt with have made sure I saw the "ceros" on the pump before commencing with the fill-up.

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

Good riddance. When I visited Oregon some years back, mandatory full-service came off to me as very nanny state-ish.  I deliberately re-filled my rental car in Vancouver WA before returning it to the PDX airport just to avoid that idiocy.

[Max Rockatansky]

Wasn't the idea more about the mandate creating jobs than being a safety thing?

[cl94]

About time. Though this has been coming ever since they started allowing overnight self-serve in rural counties nearly a decade ago. COVID and the resulting low unemployment rate just hastened things. It should also be noted that they have lifted the self-serve ban each of the past few summers during heat waves and bad smoke.

Now, I'm not going to pay 20 cents more a gallon to avoid full service. But when the price is close, forget it.

Wasn't the idea more about the mandate creating jobs than being a safety thing?

At least the stated reason. Pretty sure it was to create jobs during the energy crisis and associated recession. NJ is allegedly for safety, but there have been some reliable sources claiming that one was due to corruption.