You can pump your own in parts of Oregon now

[agesilaus]

Link

[old_guy]

I like having a young man or woman pump my gas. I sit in my car or truck, they wash my windshield and I'm warm. I don't smell of gas and as far as giving them my card I feel safe, why do you ask. one thing is if you have people out there, there is a very small chance of any one putting a scanner on the pumps so they can read your card numbers and steal your identity. it happens across the river in washington all the time, they pump their own gas. having a person pump my gas helps keep young people off welfare. it gives them a job. it helps young high school kids have spending money. it helps high school kids buy their own school clothes. there are a lot of benefits to having someone pump your gas for you. some years back a gas distributor fought like mad to keep the laws the way they were so there would be jobs for these people. pumping your own gas does not lower the price of gas at the pump. any savings just are eaten up at the state tax level

[ksg5000]

Oregon is a big strange but some would argue that your ultimate gas price is determined by the distributors and tax authorities and not by the minimum wage earned by gas attendants --- goes against the basic econ rules we learned 40+ years ago but "free market" ain't so free when there are limited number of distributors.

Oregon laws remain in effect because everytime someone tries to overturn the the law people point out that the gas in nearby states is usually higher than Oregon.

[jfkmk]

ktmrfs wrote:

agesilaus wrote:
Link

At least the pump jockeys don't let people get out, start the pump, then go in the store for food, etc and keep blocking an island.

Don't be so sure about that!

[JesLookin]

DallasSteve wrote:
I like hearing the bell ring when I run over their rubber hoses. No wait - that was 40 years ago.

If you hit the hose at the right angle, you could get it to ring multiple times.

[mountainkowboy]

Still WAY overpriced, but it is a "blue" state. Last time I was there the window licker that "had" to pump my fuel bent the **** out of my fuel door on my truck, and then denied it...right to work you know...

[goducks10]

MDKMDK wrote:

ksg5000 wrote:

MDKMDK wrote:
Was there back in 2011, and couldn't believe they don't let you pump your own. Luckily we were just passing through, and didn't need any gas, just the restrooms. I remember thinking at the time, how do I know who I'm handing my keys (locking gas cap/filler door) or cash/credit card to, when someone dressed casually walks up to my window and asks "fill 'er up?".

Not sure I understand - the attendant pumps the gas - most put in their own credit card in the slot. Why would you travel all the way through Oregon and pay higher gas prices in either Washington/Calif to avoid having someone pump your gas?

As I said in my post, although not in this much detail, we were just passing thru and didn't need gas. Didn't go to California or Washington either for gas. We just stopped to use the restrooms before heading east. The "can't pump gas in Oregon" was just some interesting local folklore we discovered during our stop. When we were asked how much gas we wanted, we said, "sorry, we didn't know we were at the full service islands". Then the attendant told us they were all full service, and explained the rules, and then we realized what was happening. Had never heard of this before. Anywhere.
re: putting card in slot. Where I live/buy gas, if you're going to put your credit card in the pump, you're already out of the vehicle, so you might as well finish the job. I guess they figure we're clever enough to pump our own without immolating grandma.

Can I ask, how do folks from OR deal with gas lawn mowers, snow blowers, chainsaws, charcoal grills, and so on? Once the attendant fills your gas cans, you're suddenly deemed qualified to handle and pour the class 1 flammable liquid?

You foreigners are funny. I can see no benefit to pumping my own other than having to wait for the attendant. I have on occasion got out and finished my own fill up. Never got yelled at for doing that.

[azdryheat]

I think it's a jobs program for total losers, at least from my experiences with attendants in OR.

[MDKMDK]

ksg5000 wrote:

MDKMDK wrote:
Was there back in 2011, and couldn't believe they don't let you pump your own. Luckily we were just passing through, and didn't need any gas, just the restrooms. I remember thinking at the time, how do I know who I'm handing my keys (locking gas cap/filler door) or cash/credit card to, when someone dressed casually walks up to my window and asks "fill 'er up?".

Not sure I understand - the attendant pumps the gas - most put in their own credit card in the slot. Why would you travel all the way through Oregon and pay higher gas prices in either Washington/Calif to avoid having someone pump your gas?

As I said in my post, although not in this much detail, we were just passing thru and didn't need gas. Didn't go to California or Washington either for gas. We just stopped to use the restrooms before heading east. The "can't pump gas in Oregon" was just some interesting local folklore we discovered during our stop. When we were asked how much gas we wanted, we said, "sorry, we didn't know we were at the full service islands". Then the attendant told us they were all full service, and explained the rules, and then we realized what was happening. Had never heard of this before. Anywhere.
re: putting card in slot. Where I live/buy gas, if you're going to put your credit card in the pump, you're already out of the vehicle, so you might as well finish the job. I guess they figure we're clever enough to pump our own without immolating grandma.

Can I ask, how do folks from OR deal with gas lawn mowers, snow blowers, chainsaws, charcoal grills, and so on? Once the attendant fills your gas cans, you're suddenly deemed qualified to handle and pour the class 1 flammable liquid?

[ktmrfs]

Tom/Barb wrote:

SAR Tracker wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
...And remember the new law only applies to rural areas. no in any cities

Applies to COUNTIES with less than 40,000 people

Which brings up the question, How would a traveler know?

Did we just cross the county line?

well, every case I've seen where self serve is allowed has a BIG sign at the pumps stating self serve is allowed, and if it is only certain hours, the time it is allowed.

[ktmrfs]

agesilaus wrote:
Link

pretty old news, Been that way for over a year now. And

1) you can pump your own diesel, It's not a class 1 flamable
2) you can pump your own gas in "classic" or "special interest" vehicles. pump my own gas in my SL500
3) you can (well must) pump your own gas in motorcycles.

course in the pouring rain or snowstorm is nice not to pump your own.

will we ever completely allow self serve? probably not.

At least the pump jockeys don't let people get out, start the pump, then go in the store for food, etc and keep blocking an island.

[Tom_Barb]

SAR Tracker wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
...And remember the new law only applies to rural areas. no in any cities

Applies to COUNTIES with less than 40,000 people

Which brings up the question, How would a traveler know?

Did we just cross the county line?

[turbojimmy]

MDKMDK wrote:

turbojimmy wrote:
NJ is the only other state where you can't pump your own gas. Well, you can but it's illegal and the station gets fined. That makes them angry so I just let them pump it.

Just one more state to hit with a full tank.

You'd think that, but I make sure I LEAVE NJ with a full tank. Gas is much cheaper than in PA and NY despite the "savings" of not having to pay attendants.

[DallasSteve]

I like hearing the bell ring when I run over their rubber hoses. No wait - that was 40 years ago.

[ksg5000]

MDKMDK wrote:
Was there back in 2011, and couldn't believe they don't let you pump your own. Luckily we were just passing through, and didn't need any gas, just the restrooms. I remember thinking at the time, how do I know who I'm handing my keys (locking gas cap/filler door) or cash/credit card to, when someone dressed casually walks up to my window and asks "fill 'er up?".

Not sure I understand - the attendant pumps the gas - most put in their own credit card in the slot. Why would you travel all the way through Oregon and pay higher gas prices in either Washington/Calif to avoid having someone pump your gas?

[MDKMDK]

turbojimmy wrote:
NJ is the only other state where you can't pump your own gas. Well, you can but it's illegal and the station gets fined. That makes them angry so I just let them pump it.

Just one more state to hit with a full tank.