New Jersey Keeping Motorists As Safe As 1949 When It Comes To Pumping Gas

So you would rather pump the gas yourself? Americans are the only folks dumb enough to ridicule folks for having something done for them? Guess were all supposed to cut our own grass, shovel our own snow, and rake our own leaves. Arguing against having someone pump your own gas is the equivalent of arguing with someone who just had someone shovel snow from their driveway.

huh? you're kidding right?

the opposition is against the particular law that says pumping your own gas is illegal. of course stations can still offer this "full service" at the expense of the customer. much like cutting grass/shoveling snow/raking leaves/etc - home owners can do all of that themselves but they aren't prohibited from doing so if they CHOSE to.

It isn't governments job to force an individual to use a free market good or service. Go to FULL SERVICE gas station if you want to pay someone to do it for you. Do not usurp my liberty to enforce your views.

We all know what happened when we let the Free Market on Wall Street with the Mortgage Fiasco.
I should also be free to pay as much or as little taxes to the government.

I am from NJ - and our gas prices are lower than ALL Of the surrounding states - in some cases substantially lower -and I will bet that if they say they will lower them more without gas attendants - it would never happen.

I cannot see why other states would not prefer OUR model - low priced gas AND stay in your car in -1 degree weather. If you prefer pumping your own gas in a driving rain storm - and paying MORE for it - there must be something wrong with you!

I didn't know you were a NJ guy, Tom. Keep on rockin'!

Totally agree. I think what a luxury it is to have an attendant pump the gas every time I get a fill up in Jersey. Fighting for the right to do it yourself is crazy. Sit in your car and relax. Period.

My only complaint about letting an attendant pump your gas is this:

Who enters my card PIN number at the pump if I use a debit card?

Being the Libertarian that I am I do not agree with governments having the rights to tell us what we can and can't do but the Logic and reason side of me can see major benefits with such cases as full service fuel stops. The first of those benefits is entry level jobs that provide a person with an income and stability. (I remember when I was 13 I got a job sweeping a large body shop on the weekend in exchange for learning to do bodywork and spray painting through the week after school. In 1980's minimum wage was also $4.75hr and I was getting $5.00hr cash as a 13 year old. I also got an education that led into full time employment with that shop till I was 21 years old. The skills that the owner shared with me are priceless today and it all started with menial work that most are not willing to do.) The second is when you give someone a job and stability they generally stop prowling the streets causing trouble. The third is that the attendant can also check the vital fluids of a car for the owner potentially saving them from a larger expense due to the fact that most drivers do not check their vital fluids regularly. I have a friend that owns a fuel and service station in N.J. and I can tell you he makes a very good living so the added expense of paying a fuel attendant is not breaking the business. I also know when I drove through Jersey regularly I actually enjoyed pulling up and having an attendant fuel my car, most times I would be out talking to them while they fuelled my car which also helped to de-stress me since I got out from behind the wheel and had genuine human interaction for a few minutes before heading back out into traffic.

Was in Oregon recently, and found waiting for an attendant both starting the pump and then to remove it was annoying. Plus no windshield cleaning.

Oh snap! All they do is pump the gas?

No window cleaning, checking the tire pressure, checking the wiper fluid levels, etc? When I get gas, it gives me a chance to do all of that during a single visit to the fuel station.

The reason all the card/chip readers are so popular is b/c consumers hate to give their card over to another person to complete small transactions under $100. And then gas station pumps ask all sorts of other questions - want a car wash, what level of wash, enter your zip code, enter your rewards acct pin, etc. a multitude of reasons not to need an attendant. sorry.

Let me guess, you do your own car repairs. Oil change, alignments, tire change etc.

NJ resident must not be smart enough in the eyes of their liberal politicians to pump gas. Or is the actual reason that they do not want to lose any key votes during elections. It is part of the liberal granny state to control you and fill your children with lies and fake facts.

This topic needs to be a complete PBS history documentary about automotive history. Why was an attendant initially needed to pump gas? why was it eventually made into law for fuel station attendants? how has the fuel station attendant evolved over the years? do they provide additional services, etc?

I need more info as to why attendants are necessary. Maybe there are reasonable explanations - besides "let somebody do it for you...in bad weather conditions" excuse. Not always raining or snowing in NJ & OR.