Will Oregon be ok?

The title is in no way serious, I'm sure Oregon will be fine.

I've only been there twice in my life -once as an infant and once last year (but never left PDX terminal)-, so I usually don't remember that Oregon has mandated gas-pump attendants.
With the passage of a bill allowing counties of <40k in population to allow self service at gas pumps (most of the rest of the country), there's been a social media response that an outsider like myself finds hilarious.

My question to anyone from/near Oregon that's read some of these comments: Are people being serious, or just playing up the indignity of pumping your own gas for laughs?

Clearly the "I had to fight off a bear and a gang of vagrants the last time I had to pump my own gas" type comments are just trolls, but what about the "It's much too dangerous/unhealthy/hard" type?


Thanks for the info!
~Nyt

The first time I drove through Oregon I was unaware of this law, so when I needed to fill up I proceeded to get out of my little Chevy Sprint and start pumping the measly amount of gas that such a tiny car requires. The attendant (who I believe may have been napping previously) ran out of the office waiving and yelling like something was about to explode. He said, "You can't pump your own gas!" and I said, "Sure I can, I've been doing it for years", and he said "No, you don't understand, YOU CAN'T pump your own gas! I HAVE to do it for you!" I kinda rolled my eyes and said, "Okaaaaaay....". Strange law... but hey, there's no sales tax there, so it's all give and take.

Be nice if we had that out here. I'd just as soon let someone else do it. I don't even know how much it is.

I was in California yesterday and it wasn't until I realized that there was no attendant that I remembered that I had to get out and do it myself.

I personally like the law. Our gas costs less on the average than it does in Washington, so it doesn't seem to drive up prices.

I have seen posts about people getting in a tizzy over it, but nobody I know personally is all that riled up.


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didn't know this was a new law until I saw it on social media. Go figure.

Individual towns should be relatively obvious whether they're >40k population, but there are suburbs where it's not as clear. A partial change like this is just annoying. I'd rather they go whole-hog or none at all.

-e

What is Costco going to do with all those senior attendants? Also, it is nice to sit in the car when it is blowing rain sideways and you stay dry!

tightwad said:

What is Costco going to do with all those senior attendants? Also, it is nice to sit in the car when it is blowing rain sideways and you stay dry!

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Exactly. Let someone else deal with inclement weather while I Marlin observe from above.

Odd law. I'd be fairly skeptical that it wasn't someone trying to rob me. Seems odd to me, and people never come up to me while I'm pumping gas, so it would be pretty weird to me.

It is one of those quirky things.
People continue to vote to have somebody pump gas.

Really - the best excuse going is it is sort of a "fashion" thing where people don't want their clothes to smell like gas.
Or truly, just laziness.

It seriously isn't a safety thing - not like these are junior rocket scientists who are just pumping gas so they can gain access the machines in the repair area.
More likely they are unemployable elsewhere.

Really hate the wait - so wish I could pump my own gas - someday, maybe.

Steven said:

Exactly. Let someone else deal with inclement weather while I Marlin observe from above.

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While Jim sneaks up on the group of hippos in the river, we'll hover overhead in the helicopter and watch. Oh, the hippos seem to be agitated for some reason, let's move closer to see why. Oh my, they seem to have spotted Jim and are really not happy. Let's hover even closer to the water to see if we can spot the source of their agitation. Maybe a crocodile is nearby. Wow, they are really upset now! Let's move even closer so I can yell at Jim and tell him to look out for crocodiles! Ahhh... does anyone see Jim? I thought he was right where the biggest of the hippos is eating something. Hmmm...

Zeus-cat said:

While Jim sneaks up on the group of hippos in the river, we'll hover overhead in the helicopter and watch. Oh, the hippos seem to be agitated for some reason, let's move closer to see why. Oh my, they seem to have spotted Jim and are really not happy. Let's hover even closer to the water to see if we can spot the source of their agitation. Maybe a crocodile is nearby. Wow, they are really upset now! Let's move even closer so I can yell at Jim and tell him to look out for crocodiles! Ahhh... does anyone see Jim? I thought he was right where the biggest of the hippos is eating something. Hmmm...

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Now who's gonna' pump my gas, Cheetah?

This is so wrong! Oregon... If everybody else decides to jump off a bridge you don't need to follow!

Signed
A Native

Jim is 85 and doing well.

Oregon is two states: cities on the coast, and loggers in the mountains and parts east. Every so often someone wanders out of a city and hilarity ensues.

Steven said:

Jim is 85 and doing well.

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Really? Wow. I remember watching that show every week. Good old Merlin Parkins... Or was it Marlin Perkins... I can't remember now.
That show and Marty Stouffer's Wild America were staples of our TV viewing.

I have no exact year when NC started fueling their own cars, but I seem to remember being a kid in the late 60's or around the early 70's when I last saw a pump attendant. One that actually came out and pumped the gas, checked the oil, balanced the radiator levels (there was no pre-mix in those days) checked your wipers, cleaned off the front and rear windows and even aired you tires if needed. We've been doing it ourselves for the last 47 years, or so.

Back when self service got into full swing here, I got a big laugh out of watching this one older lady in front of us who was totally bewildered and disgusted about pumping her own gas. She had that look that said, "I really wish there was someone out here to do this for me." She stood there long enough, with nozzle in hand for as long as it took, for someone to step up and help her out. I think she even tipped the guy too. Personally I didn't give it a second thought. I just went to it like it was nothing. And it really isn't that big of a deal. People just spoil easy.

Gary Byrum said:

I have no exact year when NC started fueling their own cars, but I seem to remember being a kid in the late 60's or around the early 70's when I last saw a pump attendant. One that actually came out and pumped the gas, checked the oil, balanced the radiator levels (there was no pre-mix in those days) checked your wipers, cleaned off the front and rear windows and even aired you tires if needed. We've been doing it ourselves for the last 47 years, or so.

Back when self service got into full swing here, I got a big laugh out of watching this one older lady in front of us who was totally bewildered and disgusted about pumping her own gas. She had that look that said, "I really wish there was someone out here to do this for me." She stood there long enough, with nozzle in hand for as long as it took, for someone to step up and help her out. I think she even tipped the guy too. Personally I didn't give it a second thought. I just went to it like it was nothing. And it really isn't that big of a deal. People just spoil easy.

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And so we'll tag the wild 'spoilt' lady while I Marlin observe from above. THWACK and down she went!

I'm old enough to remember when they gave you stuff to buy gas.

One of my favorite comments went something like "People just don't understand! We're Oregon and we have our own way of doing things that we like. Texas and whoever can go right back to goosestepping with everyone else!"


Which is -I believe- the ONly time I've heard my home state be put in the category of "goosestepper" :lol:

When traveling through Oregon from southern Idaho to Washington I always gas up so I can avoid the nonsense in Oregon. Though I suppose it's not really a problem in the smaller towns I pass through. Once in Oregon, I was waiting several minutes for an attendent, so I got out and grabbed the pump handle - the guy appeared in seconds!

But I lived near Portland for most of a year. There are fewer service stations in general, and there were nearly always lines of cars waiting for gas. A quick stop for gas here that might take ~8 minutes, would usually be 20 - 45 minutes in Oregon. During my time living there, I saw more gas spilled (gallons not splashes) than I have in ~40 years of pumping my own (yeah, pumps don't alway shut off automatically - and the attendent is off serving a car two lanes over). Plus, during that time, they forgot to replace my gas cap three times. If you're planning to use cash, the attendants aren't (or weren't at the time) allowed to handle cash, so you'd have to get out of your car anyway to go inside to the register. (And if they aren't trusted with cash, are you really ok with them walking off with your card?)

Finally, the station I use here in Idaho, does have an attendant available to pump gas on Tuesdays and Thursdays, if you want him to. If you pump your own, he'll do your windows while you pump. Pretty sure there are plenty of other station that do the same. Plus, a lot of stations will pump gas for cars with handicap plackards, if they have more than one attendant working (there are some ADA laws on this, not sure.)

The only people allowed to pump their own gas in Oregon iirc is motorcyclists, cuz you get gas on my bike instead of in it and Im going to be pissed.

dhbarr said:

Oregon is two states: cities on the coast, and loggers in the mountains and parts east. Every so often someone wanders out of a city and hilarity ensues.

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The cities are in the Willamette Valley, the coast is relatively unpopulated. The central/eastern part of the state is extremely rural with the exception of Bend, near the place we fly rockets.


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rharshberger said:

The only people allowed to pump their own gas in Oregon iirc is motorcyclists, cuz you get gas on my bike instead of in it and Im going to be pissed.

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Truckers and commercial fleet drivers also can, but at separate fueling stations. If you have a fancy car and want to handle the nozzle they will let you, but the attendant has to start the pump.


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Nytrunner said:

With the passage of a bill allowing towns of <40k in population to allow self service at gas pumps

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Just to be clear, it is counties with less than 40,000 inhabitants, not towns. The change won't affect most of the state.


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rharshberger said:

The only people allowed to pump their own gas in Oregon iirc is motorcyclists, cuz you get gas on my bike instead of in it and Im going to be pissed.

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Now that's funny! Yeah, you don't want to piss off a biker... even the nice ones (which is the vast majority).

To me it's just a jobs program, plain and simple. I'd rather not wait for a single attendant, I've never had to wait 20 minutes though. I moved here from Washington and it was odd not pumping my own gas. Every state has their weirdness though I was just in Austin Texas and you couldn't buy alcohol from midnight Saturday till noon on Sunday, some states you can buy alcohol in regular stores other states you can only buy alcohol in state-owned liquor stores.

Our transition over to self serve came with these little attendant islands in the center of the fuel lot where you paid for your gas. I even worked in one of those with a very limited supply of convenient items to sell. Sort of a drive-thru service station if you will. I also worked at a station where there were pump attendants, but it had a mechanics shop and a few convenient items as well. Cigs and sodas I do believe. A real service station. After that, they all turned into convenient stores that sold gas.

Now as for the alcohol sales, we've always been able to buy beer and wine at the grocery stores and convenient stores, but liquor has to be bought at the ABC liquor store. There used to be "blue" laws which are almost extinct now, where there were NO alcohol sales on Sundays. From midnight to midnight. The entire 24 hours of Sunday. Those are far and few anymore, and we still have dry counties where you can't buy alcohol AT ALL. Those are disappearing also.

You can pump your own diesel here in OR as much as you want... it's legal.. and it's real Oregon hick fuel too!

Sequential and other companies have been making Bio-D out here for a while and it's the best thing that ever came out of a MacDonald's 'restaurant'!!

Now if I could get my 2500HD to work on propane!!

I lived in Washington for 50 plus years, moved down here to Oregon, and this seems very wierd to me. The interesting thing is, gas costs less here than it did in in my self serv home state. Go figure.

Paul B.

There's a different way to "pump gas," like right after I eat hotdogs and baked beans. In Oregon, would someone else have to do that for me? Would it involve pulling my finger?