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Oregon's New Gas Law

Started by Katavia, January 04, 2018, 05:57:11 AM

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US71

Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast


texaskdog

Having worked at a gas station I've seen enough freaking idiots:  Fill milk jugs with gas; let their small children pump gas;  gas spills due to unattended pumps (don't expect they will just shut off every time); not setting the gas cans on the ground; using phones while pumping; sitting in their vehicles; not shutting off their engines....all safety issues.  I loved not having to pump gas when we visited Oregon.

texaskdog

Quote from: kphoger on January 04, 2018, 03:53:59 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 04, 2018, 03:11:19 PM
Quote from: kphoger on January 04, 2018, 02:41:44 PM
In Mexico, I have a personal policy of tipping the attendant if he washes the windshield for me, but not tipping if all he does is pump the gas.  Even with my American plates and my obviously being from the US, I've never had an attendant there actually ask for a tip.

I have never been asked for a tip at any gas station and it would never have occurred to me to give one, especially in Mexico or New Jersey (setting aside my previously-noted dislike of buying gas in New Jersey) where the full-serve is not some kind of special service apart from the norm. Even if I were to go to a full-serve pump in some other state—I never have—I doubt I would tip because they normally charge more for full-serve gas, or at least they always did when I used to see full-serve pumps (I do not recall when I last saw one outside New Jersey or Mexico). Obviously the full-serve pumps are not drawing from some special tank with more-expensive gas in it. The station owner paid the same price for the gas, regardless of whether it's coming from the "self" or the "full" pump, so it seems to me the price premium is intended to compensate the attendant for providing the service of pumping your gas for you.

I guess I view the full-serve attendant as being similar to the person who takes your order at McDonald's. I don't tip at McDonald's and I don't know anyone who does (and I do not normally tip at any other similar sort of establishment). I don't know why there would be a reason to tip at the gas station.

I take the same approach to tipping at drive-ins like Sonic as I do to tipping at full-serve gas stations:  I don't tip if the employee does only what's normally required, but I tip a small amount if the attendant does something extra.  I tip at Sonic if I make the carhop do another trip out to the car; I tip at Pemex if I make the pump attendant wash my windshield.  Otherwise, what they've done is just what they get paid to do all day long.

I tipped them $1 when they pumped it.  I figure they don't make much money and could put it to good use (though I don't pump gas station employees who don't pump gas).

US71

Quote from: texaskdog on January 04, 2018, 11:16:31 PM
Having worked at a gas station I've seen enough freaking idiots:  Fill milk jugs with gas; let their small children pump gas;  gas spills due to unattended pumps (don't expect they will just shut off every time); not setting the gas cans on the ground; using phones while pumping; sitting in their vehicles; not shutting off their engines....all safety issues.  I loved not having to pump gas when we visited Oregon.

When I worked at Road Runner, someone left the nozzle in their tank and managed to pull the whole gas pump off its base, causing a small fire.  The pump was toast, but the car and driver managed to escape unscathed. That was probably 20-25 years ago before the "breakaway" hose adapters.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

7/8

Quote from: Katavia on January 04, 2018, 05:57:11 AM
ICYMI, Oregon passed a law recently that made it legal to pump your own gas.
Thoughts?


allniter89

Quote from: texaskdog on January 04, 2018, 11:16:31 PM
Having worked at a gas station I've seen enough freaking idiots:  Fill milk jugs with gas; let their small children pump gas;  gas spills due to unattended pumps (don't expect they will just shut off every time); not setting the gas cans on the ground; using phones while pumping; sitting in their vehicles; not shutting off their engines....all safety issues.  I loved not having to pump gas when we visited Oregon.
Don't forget the idiots that drop a lite cig on the ground 4 ft from the where one is pumping gas  :pan:
BUY AMERICAN MADE.
SPEED SAFELY.

Hurricane Rex

Quote from: kphoger on January 04, 2018, 02:31:25 PM
What really gets me is that the law doesn't do away with full-serve pumps.  In fact, stations aren't required to install self-serve pumps at all.  It just allows stations in rural areas the option to do so if they see fit.  Seems pretty reasonable.
That is why its reasonable for Oregon. I don't see a problem with pumping your own gas.
ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

kphoger

Quote from: Tarkus on January 04, 2018, 10:17:15 PM
As an Oregonian, my main issue with self-serve has been the fact that I've generally preferred to fill my tank and pay cash, which only really works well with an attendant.  Self-serve stations want you to pay before pumping, and if you're paying with cash, you have to know exactly how much you'd need to fill the tank, or else you'll end up underfilling or overpaying. 

My cash-based habits have been breaking down due to Costco, however, and I did finally start to see some of the appeal of self-serve when I drove through Nevada and Arizona this past September.

I always fill my tank until the shut-off, which means I never know in advance exactly how much I'm putting in.  So, if paying cash, I always have to go back for change.




Quote from: texaskdog on January 04, 2018, 11:16:31 PM
using phones while pumping ... not shutting off their engines....all safety issues.

The chances of something going wrong because of either of these two issues is very small.  You have to have something seriously wrong with your car for leaving it running while pumping gas to be a problem.




Quote from: US71 on January 04, 2018, 11:38:50 PM
When I worked at Road Runner, someone left the nozzle in their tank and managed to pull the whole gas pump off its base, causing a small fire.  The pump was toast, but the car and driver managed to escape unscathed. That was probably 20-25 years ago before the "breakaway" hose adapters.

I've seen this even with a breakaway hose.  This was at a Huck's truck stop in Mount Vernon, Illinois.  A lady had pumped gas, forgotten to remove the nozzle from the car, and driven away.  For whatever reason, the hose did not break away and it pulled the whole pump over on its side.




Quote from: US71 on January 04, 2018, 11:14:29 PM


For a split second, I couldn't figure out what was wrong with this.  That's because, in Mexico, regular gas has green handles, premium has red handles, and diesel has black handles.  So I'm quite used to actually telling gas station attendants to fill up my gasoline-engine car with the Spanish equivalent of "fill it up with green".
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

US71

I got gas a couple weeks ago where the pump didn't shut off where I expected it to. I don't know if there was a valve or sensor problem, but I finally just stopped the pump. My gas gauge read "FULL" for a long time. Likely the last time I buy gas at that station.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

roadman

QuoteYou have to have something seriously wrong with your car if you need to leave it running while pumping gas.

FIFY.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

jeffandnicole

Quote from: texaskdog on January 04, 2018, 11:16:31 PM
Having worked at a gas station I've seen enough freaking idiots:  Fill milk jugs with gas; let their small children pump gas;  gas spills due to unattended pumps (don't expect they will just shut off every time); not setting the gas cans on the ground; using phones while pumping; sitting in their vehicles; not shutting off their engines....all safety issues.  I loved not having to pump gas when we visited Oregon.

Everything highlighted happens in Full-serve NJ as well.

In many cases, there's 1 attendant for 4 to 8 pumps.  Obviously he can't be at each pump at the same time.

While I and most people shut off our cars when refueling, occasionally a vehicle is left on. 

Phones and pumping - all the time.  However, the hazard I believe is greatly exaggerated.  Yes, there's a chance a phone could start a fire, but it's so small that nearly every story written about it is based on a hoax.  Heck, I remember a story way back when in the local paper...just as it started turning away from real news...that a full service attendant refused to pump gas because the person inside their car was on a phone.  Wasn't even having anything to do with pumping gas.  The newspaper defended the gas station based on what was a hoax story.




kphoger

Quote from: kphoger on January 05, 2018, 01:40:31 PM
You have to have something seriously wrong with your car for leaving it running while pumping gas to be a problem.

Quote from: roadman on January 05, 2018, 01:56:30 PM
QuoteYou have to have something seriously wrong with your car if you need to leave it running while pumping gas.

FIFY.

Filling up with a baby in the car at 15 degrees below zero...  Some people would rather have the heat stay on than worry about some infinitesimally small chance of a mechanical failure causing a fire while filling up with gas.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

kphoger

Just the other day, in fact, I left my engine running to fill up with gas.  It was eleven degrees outside, and my battery was low.  When I left home, the engine struggled to turn over, the gauge needles flickered for a few seconds, and then it just barely kicked to life.  No way I was going to shut that car off while pumping gas, or else I'd be stranded at the pump in the bitter cold.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

Rothman

When I was a kid, some lady left her car running while pumping gas.  The car shifted into reverse somehow and went careening into a nearby intersection.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

kphoger

Quote from: Rothman on January 05, 2018, 03:17:06 PM
When I was a kid, some lady left her car running while pumping gas.  The car shifted into reverse somehow and went careening into a nearby intersection.

Back when I drove an Isuzu cab-over turbo-diesel box truck for work, I filled up at the diesel pumps (at the same Huck's in Mount Vernon that I mentioned earlier, as a matter of fact) and then pulled forward several feet before going inside to pay.  I did this so another truck could pull in behind me if needed, as I also had to use the restroom after paying.  So I put it in Neutral, coasted forward a bit, took the keys out, walked inside and payed the cashier, went pee, and then walked back outside to find the truck missing from where I'd left it.  I found out on that day that my truck allowed you to take the keys out without first shifting into Park.  The transmission was still in Neutral when I went inside.  It had apparently slowly rolled forward until it reached the low spot of the truck lot.  Fortunately, it didn't hit anything or anyone, but there it was waiting for me in the middle of the concrete abyss.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

7/8

Quote from: kphoger on January 05, 2018, 01:40:31 PM
Quote from: US71 on January 04, 2018, 11:14:29 PM


For a split second, I couldn't figure out what was wrong with this.  That's because, in Mexico, regular gas has green handles, premium has red handles, and diesel has black handles.  So I'm quite used to actually telling gas station attendants to fill up my gasoline-engine car with the Spanish equivalent of "fill it up with green".

I'm used to seeing diesel as yellow in Ontario. Speaking of diesel, I had a friend in high school who filled up his Dad's car with diesel not realizing it was wrong. He said the nozzle didn't fit and he had to drip it into the tank :pan:. Even our science teacher was laughing at him (I actually felt bad for him).

kphoger

Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

oscar

Quote from: 7/8 on January 05, 2018, 03:46:51 PM
I'm used to seeing diesel as yellow in Ontario. Speaking of diesel, I had a friend in high school who filled up his Dad's car with diesel not realizing it was wrong. He said the nozzle didn't fit and he had to drip it into the tank :pan:. Even our science teacher was laughing at him (I actually felt bad for him).

I came close to doing that in Hay River NT, though the nozzle not fitting kept me from getting more than a few droplets of diesel into my gas tank. After my initial freak-out, I filled the rest of the tank with premium gasoline, in hopes of diluting the diesel enough to avoid problems. That did the trick.
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Takumi

Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

kphoger

Quote from: oscar on January 05, 2018, 05:09:15 PM
Quote from: 7/8 on January 05, 2018, 03:46:51 PM
I'm used to seeing diesel as yellow in Ontario. Speaking of diesel, I had a friend in high school who filled up his Dad's car with diesel not realizing it was wrong. He said the nozzle didn't fit and he had to drip it into the tank :pan:. Even our science teacher was laughing at him (I actually felt bad for him).

I came close to doing that in Hay River NT, though the nozzle not fitting kept me from getting more than a few droplets of diesel into my gas tank. After my initial freak-out, I filled the rest of the tank with premium gasoline, in hopes of diluting the diesel enough to avoid problems. That did the trick.

Some diesel nozzles are narrower than others, aren't they?  I've come close a few times back when I drove box truck, because three out of our fleet's four trucks were diesel while the other one was gasoline.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

02 Park Ave

It is unconscionable that this State created crisis is allowed to continue.  The law should be repealed.  Why did the politicians impose it on the people in the first place?
C-o-H

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: 02 Park Ave on January 05, 2018, 11:11:37 PM
It is unconscionable that this State created crisis is allowed to continue.  The law should be repealed.  Why did the politicians impose it on the people in the first place?

Because it supposedly creates entry level jobs.

J N Winkler

My concern about this change to Oregon's gas-pumping law is that it will greatly increase the risk that someone drives into a gas station, thinks self-serve is allowed, and starts pumping only to have someone come out screaming blue murder.

Quote from: kphoger on January 05, 2018, 03:05:17 PMJust the other day, in fact, I left my engine running to fill up with gas.  It was eleven degrees outside, and my battery was low.  When I left home, the engine struggled to turn over, the gauge needles flickered for a few seconds, and then it just barely kicked to life.  No way I was going to shut that car off while pumping gas, or else I'd be stranded at the pump in the bitter cold.

I'm surprised OBD II didn't go wild.  Your vehicle is new enough to require a completely sealed gas cap and taking it off while the engine is running is enough to set a leak DTC for the evaporative emissions system.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

theroadwayone

Quote from: J N Winkler on January 06, 2018, 12:00:10 AM
My concern about this change to Oregon's gas-pumping law is that it will greatly increase the risk that someone drives into a gas station, thinks self-serve is allowed, and starts pumping only to have someone come out screaming blue murder.

Quote from: kphoger on January 05, 2018, 03:05:17 PMJust the other day, in fact, I left my engine running to fill up with gas.  It was eleven degrees outside, and my battery was low.  When I left home, the engine struggled to turn over, the gauge needles flickered for a few seconds, and then it just barely kicked to life.  No way I was going to shut that car off while pumping gas, or else I'd be stranded at the pump in the bitter cold.

I'm surprised OBD II didn't go wild.  Your vehicle is new enough to require a completely sealed gas cap and taking it off while the engine is running is enough to set a leak DTC for the evaporative emissions system.
If that's the case, then they could just fill as much as needed, then get away and hope they have enough fuel to reach the nearest state line.

J N Winkler

Quote from: theroadwayone on January 06, 2018, 01:06:55 AMIf that's the case, then they could just fill as much as needed, then get away and hope they have enough fuel to reach the nearest state line.

That is not really a solution.  Once you are in the position of needing even a small amount of fuel to get out of Oregon and you make the mistake of assuming self-serve at a location that doesn't allow it and get yelled at by the manager or gas jockey, you might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini



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