Help Yourself 3
New Jersey is one of two states that prohibit self-serve gas stations. When self-service first came along, the prohibition was motivated by safety concerns.
After all, gasoline pumps are tremendously complicated devices that can be operated only by persons with advanced degrees in mechanical engineering, as anyone who has ever purchased gasoline in New Jersey can attest.
The new governor recently proposed allowing self-serve gas stations in the interest of maybe saving a nickel or so a gallon off the price. After the resulting uproar, he backed off that proposal.
After a phone call with my brother this afternoon, in which self-service and New Jersey came up, I read this article in today’s local rag and had the first real belly laugh I’ve had in days. I commend it to your attention.
May 8, 2006 at 10:16 pm
It would appear that New Jersians (is that what they are?) have never ventured out of state, or if they do they go all the way to Oregon on one tank of gas and fill up there. Maybe they are so convinced that prices are higher in self-serve states that they have decided they can’t afford to go.
May 9, 2006 at 7:50 pm
Having spent 10 years in Jersey, with at least 4 of them driving years, I can’t tell you how many people get out to pump their own gas because A) they all know the attendants and they don’t care and B) they don’t like waiting 5 minutes or more to be recognized.
May 10, 2006 at 8:39 pm
I hate going to Jersey for this reason, I always get out, and I don’t appreciate being told I’m not allowed to pump my own bloody gas.