[HN Gopher] Oregon Legalizes Self-Gas Pumping
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Oregon Legalizes Self-Gas Pumping
Author : josh_carterPDX
Score : 17 points
Date : 2023-07-28 20:49 UTC (2 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.kptv.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.kptv.com)
| Semaphor wrote:
| For a confused German where everyone pumps their own gas: Why was
| this a law in the first place? Are there similar laws in other
| states?
|
| Edit: Thanks everyone, that's really interesting. My only
| experience with attendants is in South Africa where you don't
| need a law, because the gas station doesn't trust the customers,
| and the customers don't want to risk opening their doors and get
| mugged ;)
| mhink wrote:
| It's an old law from back in the 50s. It kinda stuck around
| because no politician wanted to be the one suggesting a
| legislative change that would instantly cause a bunch of gas
| station attendants to lose their job. I guess. Trust me,
| everyone else in the United States thought it was odd as well!
|
| Funny story, though: the first time I drove down to Portland
| and stopped for gas just before the state border, there was a
| woman at the pump next to me with a very concerned look on her
| face. As I was getting gas for my own car, she turns to me and
| (slightly embarrassed) asks if I can show her how the pumps
| work. Of course, I did, but it definitely threw me for a loop
| until I remembered that law existed.
| devilbunny wrote:
| I had to show a college friend from New Jersey how to pump
| gas. We were seniors.
|
| I don't know why her parents had never taught her; they _had_
| taken out-of-state trips that would have offered the chance.
| jmartin2683 wrote:
| Unions (so, the mafia).
| JohnFen wrote:
| New Jersey is the only other state that prohibits it, I think.
| Originally (early 20th century), it was a safety thing. But in
| Oregon, anyway, it became a cultural thing over time.
|
| Right now, a number of my Oregonian friends are upset that
| they've legalized it. Mostly because it's a loss of a cultural
| touchpoint, but also because they don't want to have to get out
| of their car in cold Oregon rain to pump their own gas.
| sublinear wrote:
| I have a dumb sounding question, but I don't know anything
| about Oregon... or really anything.
|
| Do you think full service gas stations positively affected
| the economy via tourism? I ask because I've never experienced
| one and if one wasn't too far out of my way on a road trip I
| might have checked it out and the surrounding area.
| OkayPhysicist wrote:
| I can confidently say no. US states, especially those in
| the West, are big and spread out. With few exceptions, you
| can't make minor detours to visit a state. Basically, if
| you were driving through Oregon, you didn't have any other
| option but to drive through Oregon, and if you're driving
| through Oregon, you're almost certainly going to have to
| stop for gas, because one tank probably won't get you
| across the state.
| wkdneidbwf wrote:
| oregonian here.
|
| full service in this context just means some gruff
| gentleman pumps your gas. getting your windows washed or
| oil checked is all but non-existent. so no, i don't think
| there is any appeal for tourists. it's an inferior
| experience.
|
| gas stations are extremely understaffed these days, to the
| point where it's rare at some stations for all the pumps to
| even be open. cars queue at popular stations while two
| employees man a dozen pumps. it can be agonizingly slow and
| frustrating.
|
| i've read and heard a lot of pushback on self serve and i
| don't get it. iirc stations are still required to offer
| full service on a portion of the pumps, so folks who don't
| want to pump still won't have to.
|
| edit: all of this is of course my anecdotal experience from
| the willamette valley area.
| NobodyNada wrote:
| This is exactly my experience too. My usual gas station
| experience involves waiting in a long line (they've only
| got one guy working the pumps, so only 2 or 3 pumps are
| open); pulling up to a pump; waiting a while for the
| attendant to get to me; handing him my credit card and
| yelling my rewards phone number at him (my gas tank is on
| the passenger side, making this annoying and error-
| prone); waiting briefly for the actual pumping; and then
| waiting for the guy to come back around to disconnect the
| hose.
|
| It's 5-10 minutes of waiting on a good day, or upwards of
| 20 minutes on a bad day, for 60 seconds of pumping gas.
| All the while most of the pumps are sitting there unused.
| somerandomqaguy wrote:
| Are gas stations in Jersey not normally covered?
| mhgfngdbdf wrote:
| it's a law that was pushed by the industry to prevent
| eliminating jobs under the guise of safety issues.
|
| new jersey is the only other state with such a law (and it's
| even more restrictive than the oregon law was)
| ksaj wrote:
| As a motorcyclist, this would drive me nuts. I only let an
| attendant do the job once, and they dribbled all over my
| tank. How is it that I, a non-attendant, pretty much never
| spray or spill all over my tank, but the paid experts do?
|
| I get the same feedback when mentioning this to other bikers.
| [deleted]
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