New Bill Would Allow Oregon Drivers to Pump Their Own Gas

[Suzanimal]

Geez...


Since 1951 Oregonians have relied on someone else to gas our cars, which can sometimes be extremely frustrating when you have lines backed up forever and 2 poor gas attendants running around like crazy people trying to take care of everyone.

Under a new bill passed unanimously by the House this week, that may change for rural roads in Oregon. According to KEZI, in remote sections of Oregon gas stations will have the option to allow customers to pump their own gas – when no owner, operator or employee is around.

The law is expected to be limited to counties where there are less than 40,000 residents, and the bill is now headed to the Senate. Personally, I’m totally for it. Did you know Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states that don’t offer self-service gasoline? It’s funny talking to someone from out of state. They can’t believe the long lines we have, which are damn near non existent in other states.

http://thatoregonlife.com/2015/05/new-bill-allows-oregon-driver-pump-gas/?utm_content=buffer90cfe&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[PatriotOne]

I love gassing up in Oregon and having someone else pump it. It's a treat. If I remember correctly, the purpose of not having self serve gas stations in Oregon was to create jobs in response to the government ruining Oregon's logging industry.

[phill4paul]

I love gassing up in Oregon and having someone else pump it. It's a treat. If I remember correctly, the purpose of not having self serve gas stations in Oregon was to create jobs in response to the government ruining Oregon's logging industry.

I love it when government creates protected jobs. That's some good stuff right there. :rolleyes:

[amy31416]

I love it when government creates protected jobs. That's some good stuff right there. :rolleyes:

Yes please. Do things for me that I'm perfectly capable of doing myself.

I drove though New Jersey a few years back and was absolutely shocked that I was not allowed to use the pump and obligated to tip. I felt like I time-traveled to 1950.

[angelatc]

Yes please. Do things for me that I'm perfectly capable of doing myself.

I drove though New Jersey a few years back and was absolutely shocked that I was not allowed to use the pump and obligated to tip. I felt like I time-traveled to 1950.

I like full service stations, and I desperately tried using the force of the market to keep a few open, but I failed. And yet, I survived.

[jj-]

I like full service stations, and I desperately tried using the force of the market to keep a few open, but I failed. And yet, I survived.

The minimum wage is the force of the state that got rid of them.

[specsaregood]

./

[amy31416]

I like full service stations, and I desperately tried using the force of the market to keep a few open, but I failed. And yet, I survived.

I have no issue with people who like that kind of service, I do have issue with people who try to force it on me. There were a few in PA and MI.

Speaking of MI, know anyone who wants to buy or rent a 3BR/2BA house w/15 acres and a barn in an incredibly small town?

[timosman]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2018/01/03/oregons-freak-out-over-pumping-your-own-gas-shows-why-many-dumb-regulations-still-exist/


JAN 3, 2018

Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states that ban self-service gas stations. But thanks to a new law that went into effect on January 1, customers can now pump their own gas in Oregon, though only at stand-alone gas stations in counties with fewer than 40,000 residents. Elsewhere, the ban still holds.

But even this tiny increase in freedom was apparently too much for some Oregonians. In a Facebook post that’s now gone viral, local news station KTVL polled their fans for their thoughts about the new law. Some did not take the news well.

Here are a few premium selections:


“Many people are not capable of knowing how to pump gas and the hazards of not doing it correctly. Besides I don't want to go to work smelling of gas when I get it on my hands or clothes. I agree Very bad idea.”

“I don't even know HOW to pump gas and I am 62, native Oregonian.....I say NO THANKS! I don't want to smell like gasoline!”

“I've lived in this state all my life and I REFUSE to pump my own gas. I had to do it once in California while visiting my brother and almost died doing it. This a service only qualified people should perform. I will literally park at the pump and wait until someone pumps my gas. I can't even”

Of course, every day, tens of millions of Americans in 48 states pump their own gas and—miraculously—manage to avoid setting themselves on fire or drowning in gas. And anyone who doesn’t want to end up like one of Derek Zoolander’s friends can turn to Lifehacker or Wikihow for guidance.

...

[specsaregood]

Thank Zeus that we still are unburdened from having to pump our own gas in NJ.

[phill4paul]

This a service only qualified people should perform.

I have pumped gas 1,000's of times in my life. Had I known this I would have moved to Oregon and started a gas pumper union which demanded $50 an hour.

[tod evans]

The green pump is for Prius's and other eco friendly yuppie-mobiles..

[PursuePeace]

I didn't know it was possible for people to NOT know how to pump their own gas.

"..almost died doing it."

How on earth did these people survive life so far?
Next time I see some weird freak accident "man dies loading stapler", or some such thing... I'll figure it must be an Oregonian.

[timosman]

The green pump is for Prius's and other eco friendly yuppie-mobiles..

Earns you extra points on vehicle repairs as well. :cool:

[seapilot]

Wonder if they have people plugging in their Electric Cars? Do not want to get electrocuted. How do they fill lawn mowers or generators?

[Voluntarist]

xxxxx

[nikcers]

I dated a girl who never pumped gas before in a state where you have to pump gas. It was funny until she ran out of gas and she had money and then I realized it wasn't a joke to get me to buy her gas. To her family it wasn't something women were allowed to do for some reason?

[Danke]

I freak-out also by the thought of Oregonians pumping their own gas. Or tying their own shoe laces.

[oyarde]

I freak-out also by the thought of Oregonians pumping their own gas. Or tying their own shoe laces.

They must have invented the fat old man running shoes with velcro straps instead of laces . Popular in nursing homes everywhere .

[Zippyjuan]

It will destroy jobs. Think of all the now unemployed gas pumpers!

[AZJoe]

https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/26168136_10154975667276493_3563469985194211501_n.j pg?oh=7d61169137798f48bfb66621a451796c&oe=5ABACB7C

[Anti Federalist]

Hilarious Fallout from Oregon Gas Pumping Law Reveals Alarming Effects of Gov’t Dependence

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/hilarious-fallout-oregon-gas-pumping-law-reveals-alarming-power-govt-dependence/

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/oregon-gas-696x366.jpg

Many Oregon residents are panicked after their state has given ( :rolleyes: ) them a new freedom — it is no longer illegal for them to pump their own gas in certain counties.

By Rachel Blevins - January 5, 2018

For the first time in the lives of many Oregon residents, it is legal for them to pump their own gas—and while it may not seem like much to the rest of the country, the reactions of Oregonians who have no clue how to accomplish the simple chore serve as a troubling reminder of the dependence that can be created by the laws set by the government.

If you have never been to Oregon, it may seem like a foreign concept. But if you are from a different state and you have visited, you may have been surprised when you got out of your car to pump your own gas, and an attendant informed you that you were doing something illegal.

Now, thanks to the passage of House Bill 2482, Oregon residents in counties with a population fewer than 40,000 people are allowed to pump their own gas. The new law went into effect on Jan. 1, and it impacts drivers in 15 counties—several of whom are now trying to figure out how to fill their cars with gasoline for the first time.

The new phenomenon has been documented on Twitter with the hashtag “OregonGasCrisis,” and the results do not disappoint. From a host of memes and GIFs, to comical photos of people pumping gas in all of the wrong ways, the Oregon Gas Crisis has quickly become the laughing stock of social media.

Actual footage of people in #Oregon learning to pump their own #gas… #SelfPump #OregonGasCrisis pic.twitter.com/VGSiew8qjk

— Mike Johnson (@MadMikeJohnson) January 4, 2018


It's day 4 of the #OregonGasCrisis… pic.twitter.com/yC5liTCeuI

— Amy (@Draygo81) January 4, 2018


Y'all they were serious…I thought it was a joke but I'm shocked! 😮😮😮🤨 #confused #OregonGasCrisis pic.twitter.com/CuHilLlXqT

— MJ (@MykalQ) January 4, 2018



However, not all of the comments on social media were made in jest. When the CBS affiliate in Medford, Oregon, posted a photo on Facebook last week, asking if residents supported allowing self-service gas stations statewide, the responses were alarming.

“I think it could be an option, but the elderly and disabled need help. And sometimes you are going somewhere dressy or important and you don’t want to risk getting gas on you or the odor of it. It also creates jobs to have somebody do it. we pay a lot for gas, we shouldn’t HAVE to pump it,” Jan Norton wrote.

Sharlette Case claimed she supports making it illegal to pump your own gas because it creates jobs, and she also shared the fear of spilling gas, and having to deal with the smell for the rest of the day. “No, it’s a job creator,” she wrote. “There’s so many people out looking for work. This will help. Plus I don’t want to smell like gas when I go to work.”

“I don’t even know HOW to pump gas and I am 62, native Oregonian . . . I say NO THANKS! I don’t like to smell like gasoline!” Sandy Franklin replied.

Tina Good also shared the fear of spewing gas all over when attempting to fill up her car, and having to deal with the smell. She even argued that pumping your own gas should be illegal because “many people are not capable of knowing how to pump gas.”

“Not a good idea, there are lots of reasons to have an attendant helping, one of they need a job too,” Good wrote. “Many people are not capable of knowing how to pump gas and the hazards of not doing it correctly. Besides, I don’t want to go to work smelling of gas when I get it on my hands my hands of clothes. I agree, very bad idea.”

Cathy Dahl shared a fear of being too close in proximity to homeless people when she exited the safety of her car, in order to pump her gas. “Disabled, seniors people with young children in the car need help. Not to mention getting out of your car with transients around and not feeling safe too. This is a very bad idea. Grrr,” she wrote.

The comments from that Facebook post alone may make one think that gas stations in the state of Oregon are irregular, or have gas pumps that often malfunction, but it also shows the power of government.

The only reason Oregon residents have not been pumping their own gas is that their state’s government said it was “illegal” to do so. Therefore, the state has cultivated generations that have never learned how to do a simple task that was being accomplished by the rest of the country. Instead of feeling empowered by this new freedom, residents are resorting to fear.

While the new law only impacts counties in Oregon that have less than 40,000 residents, there is a good chance that the great Oregon Gas Crisis of 2018 will have an impact on the only other state that makes it illegal to pump your own gas—New Jersey.

[Raginfridus]

Woemyns:rolleyes:

Can anyone living in Oregon confirm the state's full of elderly and retards?

[luctor-et-emergo]

Is this a joke or what ?

It amazes me sometimes, how people are not capable of performing the most basic tasks yet they seem perfectly capable of procreating. Kind of scary, really.

[Danke]

If the demand is there, they will just have some pumps are full-service and charge a little more.

[Schifference]

I often thought if somebody wanted to make a few dollars they could stand at a gas station and offer to pump your gas for like $1.

[luctor-et-emergo]

If the demand is there, they will just have some pumps are full-service and charge a little more.
What kind of 'full service' do you envision ?

[Danke]

We may have to include Oregon in the Wall proposal.

http://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/f1c2468b4a6f9300622fc16ee430bdd7.jpg

[pcosmar]

Woemyns:rolleyes:

Can anyone living in Oregon confirm the state's full of elderly and retards?

Full is a kind of broad statement.

They do seem to have more than their share of allegedly helpless people.

[Raginfridus]

Full is a kind of broad statement.

They do seem to have more than their share of allegedly helpless people.
The women of Oregon seem to believe their state is full of elderly and retarded drivers.

[Raginfridus]

We may have to include Oregon in the Wall proposal.

http://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/f1c2468b4a6f9300622fc16ee430bdd7.jpgThere should be a wall separating every coastal state from America.

[pcosmar]

The women of Oregon seem to believe their state is full of elderly and retarded drivers.

I kidnapped my wife from there. and am only marginally north.

[Raginfridus]

The other side of town's full of Asian drivers, so I can kinda relate to living near so many old, retarded, and women drivers. Really makes one cautious.

[Brian4Liberty]

Pumping gas is for peons. Does Hillary Clinton pump her own gas?

[CrissyNY]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DSspHX7WkAAqt7_.jpg

[oyarde]

If the demand is there, they will just have some pumps are full-service and charge a little more.

Up until a couple years ago ( guy died and his kids sold them all of ) there was one chain around here with full service and they were the busiest places around . They sold gas , oil , cigarettes and lighters . Thats it . But they would check/add oil and do windows on request . They had free air . They pd a commision to employees on gallons pumped and the managers got a commission off of non gas items . Every old lady in the county went there .

[otherone]

Is this a joke or what ?

It amazes me sometimes, how people are not capable of performing the most basic tasks yet they seem perfectly capable of procreating. Kind of scary, really.

Same sort of process involved.

[luctor-et-emergo]

Same sort of process involved.

I was gonna mention that but it seemed too obvious for me. :cool:

[nobody's_hero]

Pumping gas is for peons. Does Hillary Clinton pump her own gas?

Gotta break those gas ceilings!

[Weston White]

They should just call it quits and make washing their vehicles illegal too. I mean who wants to show up at work smelling like Turtle Wax? Man alive, the indignity of it all.

[seapilot]

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a8/58/bc/a858bcc80d223ff8f40afc655b2fb572--awkward-pictures-fail-pictures.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/29/4a/fb/294afb9f0f9e8770d8cec0f7c9c435a6--northwest-usa-oregon-usa.jpg

https://pics.me.me/day-30f-oregon-gaspumping-crisis-37-of-vehicles-inoperable-after-filling-30005592.png

https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5a4e6baf2100003e005f71b1.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_nou pscale

[Occam's Banana]

Eight years later ...

https://twitter.com/CarlosDinTN/status/1687942097150894080
https://i.imgur.com/cxQDq0u.png

[Pauls' Revere]

I have pumped gas 1,000's of times in my life. Had I known this I would have moved to Oregon and started a gas pumper union which demanded $50 an hour.

United in Pumping! hehehehehehehehehehehehe

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjA5MzY4OTctYzFhNC00YmYwLTk4ZDUtMzQ1OTI4YmJkZj A0XkEyXkFqcGdeQWRpZWdtb25n._V1_.jpg

[jmdrake]

I dated a girl who never pumped gas before in a state where you have to pump gas. It was funny until she ran out of gas and she had money and then I realized it wasn't a joke to get me to buy her gas. To her family it wasn't something women were allowed to do for some reason?

https://www.amazon.com/Real-Women-Dont-Pump-Gas/dp/0450056775

[Occam's Banana]

Eight years later ...

https://twitter.com/CarlosDinTN/status/1687942097150894080
https://i.imgur.com/cxQDq0u.png

https://twitter.com/RichardHanania/status/1782046525394497761
https://i.imgur.com/6R93MKj.png

Why Jersey girls − and guys − still don’t pump their own gas
https://theconversation.com/why-jersey-girls-and-guys-still-dont-pump-their-own-gas-226290
{Robert H. Scott III | 29 March 2024}

New Jersey’s quirky reputation is hard earned, but one peculiarity stands out: It’s the only place in America where you can’t pump your own gas.

Laws against self-service gasoline used to be common: In the late 1960s, nearly half the states in the U.S. (https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/09/business/new-jersey-gas-station-self-service-ban/index.html) had one. But as fuel dispensers became safer and credit cards made paying at pumps possible, those states began to reconsider. By the early 1990s, nearly four out of five gas stations nationwide (https://doi.org/10.1162/003465300558966) were self-serve.

For decades, Oregon and New Jersey were the last two holdouts. But Oregon loosened its restrictions against gas station self-service in 2018 and ultimately reversed its ban (https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Measures/Overview/HB2426) in 2023.

That leaves the Garden State. Its self-service ban, which went into effect in 1949, has a colorful history: It was born of a thuggish, Sopranosesque effort (https://www.nj.com/opinion/2014/02/the_real_reason_self-service_gas_was_banned_in_nj_corruption_not_safety .html) to thwart competition. In the late 1940s, a man named Irving Reingold opened a self-service station in Hackensack, offering gasoline at a lower price than his competitors. Those competitors tried to intimidate Reingold – complete with a drive-by gas-station shooting (https://www.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2008/05/want_cheaper_gas_pump_it_yours.html). When that didn’t work, they formed an alliance and proposed the self-service ban.

As an economics professor based in New Jersey (but from the Midwest) (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zQIzkdYAAAAJ&hl=en), I’ve taken a keen interest in this rule. And I don’t think it’s going anywhere – for now, at least.

Why New Jersey’s ban is here to stay

Despite the ban’s unsavory origins, New Jersey residents seem to like it. Nearly three out of four New Jerseyans oppose lifting the ban (https://eagletonpoll.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Rutgers-Eagleton-Poll-Pump-Own-Gas-March-10-2022.pdf), a 2022 Rutgers poll found. That same year, a Monmouth University poll found that a slight majority would support allowing self-service gasoline, but only if the state required all gas stations to offer full service as an alternative (https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/monmouthpoll_nj_041122/). If the state didn’t do that, then 60% said they’d support maintaining the current ban.

State politicians are clearly paying attention. When asked about the self-service ban in 2019, Gov. Phil Murphy said that trying to reverse it would be “political suicide (https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/new-jersey-gov-murphy-vows-not-to-make-residents-pump-their-own-gas).” Former New Jersey Govs. Chris Christie (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/31/nyregion/new-jersey-gas-pumping.html), a Republican, and Jon Corzine (https://jalopnik.com/heres-why-some-places-in-the-u-s-still-wont-let-you-pu-1846694716), a Democrat, met the same resistance and also never pushed the issue. Self-service gas stations may be the most bipartisan public policy issue in New Jersey.

Do drivers benefit from the ban?

There are reasonable arguments for and against the self-service ban.

One is that banning self-service leads to higher prices at the pump because it boosts labor costs. There’s evidence supporting this claim. A recent study found that gasoline prices fell 4.4 cents per gallon (http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4064061) after Oregon partially removed its ban in 2018. Interestingly, this estimate is in line with an earlier study that found self-service bans increase gas prices from 3 to 5 cents per gallon (https://doi.org/10.1162/003465300558966).

However, gasoline prices likely won’t fall more than a few cents per gallon if the ban is repealed. That’s because having full-time gasoline pumpers lowers stations’ insurance costs (https://doi.org/10.1162/003465300558966) because of fewer accidents and less risk. Clearly, the risk is significant, or you wouldn’t see lawyers advertising based on the issue (https://www.joneswilson.com/blog/common-ways-you-could-be-hurt-at-a-gas-station).

For people who want to pump their own gasoline, a ban on self-service may feel oppressive, but they might be disappointed by the alternative. That’s because research shows full service doesn’t take longer than self-service (http://doi.org/10.2753/0577-5132500507), even though people expect it will.

People think full service takes longer because temporal relevance (https://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2012/08/our-perceptions-time-vary-or-why-watched-pot-never-boils/) distorts their perception of time. Temporal relevance is why waiting in line when you’re in a hurry feels like an eternity but time flies when you’re having fun. In much the same way, time seems to move more quickly when you’re pumping your own gas.

What about the workers?

People also support the self-service ban for a practical reason: It creates jobs.

There are 3,205 gasoline service stations (https://gisdata-njdep.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/488f8af430364adbaa2b91d3869a7c1d_5/explore?location=40.125146%2C-74.742394%2C8.26) in New Jersey. If each station employs two attendants, that would add up to 7,410 employees across the state. These are jobs that are open to people with limited education,which is a big deal at a time when blue-collar service jobs are being replaced by automation.

But the labor issue is complex. During the pandemic there were legitimate concerns about finding enough employees to work these jobs (https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/05/new-jersey-drivers-pump-gas-00014339). These labor constraints led the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience Store, Automotive Association to reverse its long-standing support of the ban (https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/njgca-members-support-bill-to-legalize-optional-self-serve/).

The net economic effects from lifting the ban remain unclear. Researchers will have a better sense of it from watching what happens in Oregon, although there’s a movement to put the issue on the ballot in November 2024 and let Oregon voters decide whether to reinstate the ban (https://www.opb.org/article/2023/10/25/pump-gas-oregon-ufcw/). If successful, this will be an election that New Jersey politicians – and self-service gurus – will watch closely.

In the meantime, if you want to pump your own gasoline in the Garden State, fuhgeddaboudit (https://www.oed.com/dictionary/fuhgeddaboudit_int).