Why New Jersey and Oregon still don't let you pump your own gas

[underpants]

Interesting short read with lots of history.
The answer is basically that people in both states just don’t want it..... or they are used to it.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/18/energy/new-jersey-oregon-pump-your-own-gas/index.html

In New Jersey, it's been illegal for drivers to pump their own gas since 1949. A ban on self-service gas has been in place in Oregon since 1951, although the state relaxed restrictions for rural towns a few years ago. Violators can be fined up to $500 for breaking these states' laws.


At the same time, vehicle warranties began to stipulate that cars must be serviced at dealerships, a shift that eroded gas stations' service and repair business.
"Traditional full-service gas stations lost their profit center in automotive repairs and were forced to change their method of operation," said Wayne Henderson, the author of the book "One Hundred Years of Gas Stations."

"On self-service gas, that's been sort of a political third rail in New Jersey," Gov. Phil Murphy said in April.


The state's residents have little interest in self-service. A March poll found that 73% of them say they prefer having their gas pumped for them.
"There is apparently one thing all New Jerseyans can agree on nowadays," Ashley Koning, the director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, said when the poll was released.

[elleng]

1. My daughter grew up in DC, attended college in PA near Philly,

had/has lots of NJ friends (now lives there,) knows how to pump gas, and has done so often for uninitiated Jersey friends!

[SheilaAnn]

2. I know for a fact that "Jersey Girls" just won't have it, no way, no how! n/t

[jimfields33]

11. I stopped at a gas station in Jersey

It took forever to get filled up. So grateful I don’t go there often.

[Diamond_Dog]

3. I can't remember ever NOT pumping my own gas.

Although I remember full service stations when I was a child.

[underpants]

4. I remember getting astronaut plates of glasses with a fill up

Early 70’s. You had to keep coming back to get a full set.

I know of two full service places around here but it’s been a while since I’ve been to either.

[Diamond_Dog]

6. Astronaut plates...

😄

I’m so old I remember getting Green Stamps and S&H Plaid stamps. . It was my sister’s and my job to paste them in the books.

[2naSalit]

15. Same here!

Though some gas stations still gave away dishes and flatware and other stuff.

I wish there was full service available. It was disappearing right about the time I started driving.

[Diamond_Dog]

16. We must be around the same age.

I remember my Dad taking me to the gas station when I got my driver’s license and showing me how to pump gas. You’re right, those came about right as I was 16 as well.

[2naSalit]

17. Before that, nobody pumped their own gas.

[Diamond_Dog]

19. You are correct. Pumping your own gas was unheard of!

It was a nice service, plus an oil check and washing your windshield. Those were the days when you actually got customer service somewhere.

I have female friends who still don’t fill their own tank, their husbands always keep their car filled for them.

[MuseRider]

5. I feel pretty lucky about all of this.

When my kids were in car seats we still had people who would pump your gas, check under the hood and check your tires. Then they would bring your bill to your window and you could pay however you wanted to pay still in your car with no kids to take in and out. I could certainly pump my own but with the kids in the car this was just easier and most people used that service. It was not long after the time when I could leave them in the car, lock it, and walk up to the window to pay that it stopped everywhere around here. I will occasionally think about that, how it payed for people to do that job. It is almost like having to check yourself out at Walmart or the grocery now. Jobs lost to people who needed them. All of a sudden we become the unpaid and uncounted employee.

[empedocles]

8. Inhaling gas fumes while pumping gas, can't be good for you.

Gas pumping attendants can be required to wear masks.

[underpants]

10. As I read this I thought about self checkouts.

As you know, there are people in industries who think these things up. I can’t imagine that was in the calculation.

Back when it was just me, Mom, and my brother we used to drive “home” from Richmond to Huntington WV. 64 hadn’t been connected so we went through the old WV Turnpike. Appalachia. 100’s of foot drop of the side of the road often without guardrails. So we stop at a gas station to fill up the Vega station wagon.

This guy comes out and Mom very nicely asks if he could put in a quart of oil (it leaked oil) and wash the windshield....please. This guy has the hood up so we can’t see anything. Why we didn’t get out of the car I don’t know. He drops the hood, steps back, and picks up a metal bucket chucking all the water onto the windshield. He then walked up to my Mom’s window - I’m sure all our jaws were dropped - and said “Okay Ma’am, you can turn on your wipers now”.

Nobody said a word until we’d pulled out of the gas station aaaand then we all cracked up. We still talk about it.

[MuseRider]

12. Memories like that

are precious. I suspect there is something hidden in my addled brain that will pop out the moment before I lose consciousness. I hope it is a good one!

[marble falls]

7. I have no problem having and paying for someone to pump my gas.

[LiberalFighter]

9. If it was a choice in other states I'm sure plenty would go for it.

[Igel]

18. I lived in MD when self-service became legal there.

Just getting my license.

Took almost no time for all the gas stations in the working class area I lived in to go to completely self-service. One switched, lowered prices, and the other dominos fell real quick. It was during the '70s gas crunch, or real close to it.

My father didn't care. My mother was upset and had my father do it most of the time.

[Sneederbunk]

13. NJ and OR do not want drivers to have a choice.

[Timewas]

14. Figure

Here in Oregon that rule probably accounts for at least 3 to 4 extra jobs that would not be there otherwise. It is nice having gas pumped for you like the good old days...

[3Hotdogs]

20. Me? Born, raised in N.J. and still live there. I filled up in Union, N.J. Costco. Today, I drove to

Pennsylvania. The fukkin self service gas in Pa. cost more than I paid in N.J. West Va. was cheaper but how much of that is due to gas tax?

Even of it costs more, I prefer staying in my car and giving somebody a job.

[MichMan]

21. If some people prefer to have their gas pumped, why make it illegal for those that dont?

[NNadir]

22. I always feel weird when I go to a foreign state and have to pump gas myself.

I do it of course.

Little known or appreciated fact: Gasoline is a carcinogen, and pumping gas is a fairly hazardous occupation.