Originally posted by calvol:
What is the rationale behind these laws against self-service gas stations in Ore and NJ anyway? Damm if I ever fill up in Ore! That's ludicrous.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ludicrous? Why?
I don't know the original rationale, but I suspect that it has something to do with the explosive nature of gasoline. Diesel not being explosive, can be self pumped. (at least, that's my limited understanding of the situation).
That being said, why would I want to pay more for the "privelege" of pumping my own fuel when it's cheaper to let them pump it for me?. For as long as I can remember, the states that border NJ tpyically charge 5-10 cents/gallon more for unleaded at the self serve pump than I pay at the full serve pump in NJ.
Every now and again, some idiot legislator starts suggesting that NJ go to self-service gas stations. This typically coincides with a spike in prices. They say loudly that self-serve will save us 5-10 cents per gallon. Sure it will -- because they'll hike the full-servce price until it's 5-10 cents higher than the self-serve price, which would be higher than the original pre-self-serve price.
I really don't understand why so many people get so bent out of shape about NJ and OR not legally allowing self service gasoline. You'd think they were being asked to give up their rights to free speech or something.
Granted, some attendants are hard to deal with. I even had some idiot once fill my Jeep up with "super" when I asked for "regular", then had the gall to tell me I was wrong when I pointed out his mistake. I simply never went back to his station. The place I go for my diesel fuel is pretty good - they understand the "to the first click" expression, and they're pretty neat with the nozzle.
I happen to like not being forced to pump my own fuel - that's my story, and I'm sticking with it.
Rob
P.S. Not trying to start a flame war or anything, just got tired of hearing NJ and OR likened to being some sort of evil entity just because they won't let you pump your own gasoline. (Granted there's plenty of other reasons to hate NJ, but they're not relevant to this discussion)