All of Oregon in the first week #oregongas pic.twitter.com/k1wl2UaI3m— Les HailYes (@LesHailYes) January 4, 2018
As somebody who's been pumping his own gas since 1971, this is hilarious!
As of Jan. 1, gas stations in counties with a population of less than 40,000 are permitted to offer self-service. While the change in the law is expected to affect a small number of people, Oregonians took to social media to express their discontent – and were subsequently mocked by residents of the other 48 states that allow self-service. New Jersey is the only other state that prohibits drivers from pumping their own gas.
....
Since 1951, Oregon law has required all gas stations to have attendants; but for the past two years, stations in certain rural counties have been permitted to offer self-service from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
IOW, four years before I was born. It's tradition, I tells ya! No, seriously:
"I think a lot of people are still going to just keep it going the way it is because Oregonians, for better or for worse, we are traditional people," Acker says. "We stand by our traditions since 1951 when this law passed."
I'm guessing they may change their minds when rural areas get Costco gas.
But much of the outcry on social media didn't call on tradition. The responses to a now-viral Facebook post by a local TV station ranged from concerns about smelling like gasoline to being attacked by drifters lurking around stations. Some said they didn't even know how to pump gas.
"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!" one woman commented on the post.
I'm 62 and DO know how to pump gas. Somehow this strikes me as not knowing how to thread a needle, or roast a chicken; or mash potatoes, for that matter. And the only time I smell like gasoline is....well, I never smell like gasoline, actually.
"No! Disabled, seniors, people with young children in the car need help," another woman wrote. "Not to mention getting out of your car with transients around and not feeling safe too. This is a very bad idea. Grr."
I actually got out of the car to pump gas with my daughter in a car seat. If you have young children in your car NOT in a car seat, what's up with that? Is Oregon THAT backwards?
Acker says she filmed a video to help her fellow Oregonians learn how to pump gas, noting the danger in wildly spraying it in the air like in the movie Zoolander.
Granted, I saw people in rural Illinois in the winter keep their cars running at the pump. Might as well have been spraying gasoline in the air.
Some of the concerns weren't completely dramatic. In fact, Disability Rights Oregon pointed out that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires self-service gas stations to assist customers with disabilities.
Which is why Costco has attendants who will help you if you need it; even have a convenient button on each pump so you can summon help. This isn't exactly rocket science anymore.
— 🇺🇸Jojoh888🇺🇸🌹 (@jojoh888) January 5, 2018
I like full service because a. it employs people who would otherwise have a hard time finding work, b. it spills less gasoline into the environment than self-service.
ReplyDeletec. I don't know how many people I've heard of who forgot their gas caps. Though I've never heard of that (see picture) happening.