And survived. Although I did get a stern "I will thank you to let go of the nozzle" from the attendant.
Not sure what gives? Anyone have an explanation for why I can't fill my own car in the Garden State?
And survived. Although I did get a stern "I will thank you to let go of the nozzle" from the attendant.
Not sure what gives? Anyone have an explanation for why I can't fill my own car in the Garden State?
Job Creation
I think Oregon is the only other with the same law. It's an "increase employment" ploy, I assume, under the guise of safety. I had one silly, old fart in Oregon lecture me for ten minutes about the dangers of gasoline and about the strenuous education in gasoline pumping he received to qualify him for his "job.".
My only offense was having an out-of-state plate. I hadn't said a berkleying word.
Get a motorcycle, you get to pump your own gas all the time. The one time I got gas in New Jersey a few weeks ago I got to do the whole thing myself.
Pumped it myself with my car once as well. Skip the line, drive up, pump, leave. No one said anything. It's Jersey, people aren't going to do anything, that'd take effort.
Oregon is also like this.
But did you fist pump your own gas?
and gas is still cheaper in NJ than PA or NY
ZOO wrote: Anyone have an explanation for why I can't fill my own car in the Garden State?
Because back in 1949, when they put the ban in place, they thought it was way too much of a fire hazard to let people handle it without safety training. Oregon basically the same two years later.
Many other states enacted similar laws prohibiting people from pumping gas for similar reasons. Those same other states eventually repealed those laws. New Jersey and Oregon have not.
So, it's not new, it's quite old actually.
back in the day i was towing with my 1991 caprice through jersey. the attendant left my plate flipped down and my trailer wiring unplugged.
pres589 wrote: Get a motorcycle, you get to pump your own gas all the time. The one time I got gas in New Jersey a few weeks ago I got to do the whole thing myself.
Or a classic car. Most attendants are willing to let you pump it yourself when they find out they can't set the nozzle and walk away and actually have to hold it and pay attention.
Really annoying is some stations have pumps that will only activate after the attendant swipes an access card first.
mad_machine wrote: and gas is still cheaper in NJ than PA or NY
Cheaper for two reasons.
A friend of mine owns a small independent gas station and runs it as full service because it would cost him over a grand a month for the insurance for self service.
I remember growing up in Ohio back when we still had a couple full service stations around. The full service pumps commanded a premium over the self service pumps. It used to drive me crazy because mom would pull up and wait two cars behind in the full service lane while the self serve lane was empty. I'd beg her to pull over there and let me pump it, it was cheaper and everything but she never would.
I can't think of any full service stations left there anymore. The last one that was, located three blocks from the house I grew up in, blew up in the early nineties and never was rebuilt.
Actually, if you look at the roundness of most Americans does anyone wonder if having a full service station would just be raking in money hand over fist?
"Why Sir, or Ma'am, I see you are to, fat, lazy, on the phone, eating fast food, to get out and pump your own gas, let me do that for you..."
Add in the sense of entitlement that seems to be so prevelant in our society and I could see the full service gas station being a Money Maker...
Dating myself a bit here but back when full service was common I worked as a gas jockey for a summer while in high school. It was the first gas station you came across between the interstate and a popular beach. I met a lot of cute girls that summer. I still have a full set of MAC impact sockets I found while cleaning behind the cabinets in the service bay - the owner said 'finders keepers - they're yours'.
On topic - the only time I ever pumped my own gas in Jersey, I pulled up to the pump, jumped out and had 6-7 gallons in the tank before I realized "oops, not supposed to do that". The attendant just rolled his eyes and then looked the other way.
Where I live in suburbia, full serve stations are essentially gone. I used to work at one and yes, the per gallon price was a good percentage higher. When traveling into rural areas of PA you will occasionally see station with old style Self-Serve and Full-Serve islands (with the aforementioned price difference).
The average American may be fat and lazy, but they're also really cheap - and usually cheapness wins out over laziness, hence the death of the traditional Full-Serve island.
Also - the other reason NJ gas is cheaper: lower state and local taxes. However, the price disparity is greater in Southern NJ (more farms) than in Northern NJ (more $$). The local taxes are higher in NNJ. A number of gas stations I pass in NJ are equal to and sometimes higher than stations near my house in PA.
There is no better place to need gas in a torrential downpour or windchill < 5F day. It's nice to roll the window down a 1/4 inch and stick your card out into horrendous weather. A luxury we have to pay extra for here in good 'ol PA.
Unfortunately the NJ law does not apply to diesel fuel so for the last few years I've have to schlep my ass out and pump regardless.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Unfortunately the NJ law does not apply to diesel fuel so for the last few years I've have to schlep my ass out and pump regardless.
Yep, although it depends on the station. I used to go to two Valeros about 5 miles apart. One would not let me get anywhere near the pumps - car or truck. The other would barely aknowledge my presence as I filled up the truck, and might look at me when I was in the car. Since I put fuel treatment into the car, the first station always gave me a hard time about it.
From what I understand, the station is subject to a fine as well if you're caught, so don't blame the poor guy pumping gas.
I pump my own gas in Oregon all the time. If you are on reservation land the law does not apply. Confuses the hell out of some people as they just sit in their car waiting for an attendent.
I'm so protective of my junk and generally can't stand the thought of someone else touching it. I just had to have my bike inspected here, the guy started to put the sticker on and I stopped him and asked if I could put it on because if he got it crooked I was going to hate him for the rest of his life. He said no only he was allowed to place the sticker on the vehicle. He got it crooked, I had to pull the plate he stuck it on and trim it and drill new mounting holes so it would look straight when I mounted it back on. And I do hate that guy, I hate him so much. I could see me going psycho on some goob pumping gas because he let it drip on the car or put a finger print on something or scratched something. I'm really not a stable enough person to let anybody pump gas for me.
nicksta43 wrote: I'm so protective of my junk and generally can't stand the thought of someone else touching it.
I commute through NJ every day, mostly on a bike. The attendants at my "usual" stations don't even look at me when I pull in any more, so it's still super wierd when I end up somewhere that they don't want me pumping gas. I usually do it anyway- I'm yet to have any actual repercussions.
nicksta43 wrote: I'm really not a stable enough person to let anybody pump gas for me.
That exaplains a lot... 
I've had to have the gas pumped in NJ before. Drives me nuts because A. I don't want them touching my car, and B. I always round the dollar amount to the nearest $0.05 due to a weird OCD thing but also it helps me know if anyone else has used my card at a gas station. They'll just stop at the pump shutoff.
In NY and PA we have kwik fill. Half the stations are full service with no upcharge. Also, the gas is US/Canada, and the CC they issue is $.05 off per gallon. If only they had a no ethanol option.
oldopelguy wrote: A friend of mine owns a small independent gas station and runs it as full service because it would cost him over a grand a month for the insurance for self service.
how much does he pay someone to pump gas every month? and how much does he lose in sales because people don't buy a hot dog, 20 oz coke, a couple of donuts, some smokes, and $5 worth of scratch off lottery tickets while they are inside paying for the gas?
In reply to novaderrik:
There are still some gas stations out there that aren't trying to be a 7-11...
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