You learn something new every day. Had no idea that self-serve filling stations were illegal in two states!

SALEM, Ore. – Oregon is one of only two states where drivers aren’t allowed to pump their own gas, but lawmakers appear ready to allow people cruising through rural areas to serve themselves.

That would leave New Jersey as the last holdout with statewide restrictions. Oregon’s not ready to completely jettison its 64-year-old ban, but concerns that travelers could get stranded in places with few gas stations open in the middle of the night may bring self-service pumps to vast expanses of the state.

Parts of Oregon are so remote that people unfamiliar with the landscape don’t realize hundreds of miles separate gas stations, said Rep. Cliff Bentz, sponsor of a bill that would let gas stations offer self-service fuel when there isn’t an owner, operator or employee around.

Rural businesses in the middle of nowhere can’t afford to keep someone manning the pumps 24 hours a day, said Bentz, a Republican from Ontario, a city near the Idaho border.

“You go around eastern Oregon counties, you find more and more situations where there isn’t any fuel. And it’s not unlike the situation electric-car owners find themselves in now,” Bentz said.

Bentz’s bill sailed through the House on a bipartisan 60-0 vote. It’s now awaiting a committee hearing in the Senate.

The measure is limited to counties where there are fewer than 40,000 residents. That accounts for half of Oregon’s counties and almost all of eastern Oregon.

Oregonians have rebuffed every attempt to overturn the ban on self-service gas since it was instituted, including a ballot measure they rejected in 1982 that would have legalized self-service pumps. The opposition has been so strong that legislators haven’t introduced a measure to overturn the ban since 2003.

New Jersey has stuck with its restrictions, too. In 2011, Gov. Chris Christie said he wouldn’t support legislation for self-service gasoline because most residents don’t want it, despite proposing self-serve gas while campaigning for governor in 2009.

Oregon’s ban lists 17 motives. Among them, self-service “discriminates against customers who are elderly or have disabilities who are unable to serve themselves,” and it could create a “dangerous situation” for unattended children.

“In Oregon, the first reason that the law gives to ban self-service gas in effect is, ‘You will set yourself on fire,'” said Steve Buckstein, co-founder of the Cascade Policy Institute, a libertarian think tank.

These days, the arguments against self-service are mainly that full-service stations create jobs and make life more convenient by letting drivers stay in their vehicles.

Bentz said owners and operators of rural gas stations asked him to introduce HB 3011 this year.

If it’s a frosty winter night and the needle on the fuel gauge is nudging empty, drivers in rural Oregon may grow desperate when, after driving hours in search of a filling station, they find it empty and closed.

“Numerous times, I’ve been woken in the middle of the night by the sheriff’s dispatch because we have folks who follow their phones and aren’t very smart and don’t fill up till their gas lights are on,” said Tom Downs, who owns a gas station in southeastern Oregon.

“Out of the goodness of our hearts, we get up in the middle of the night and fuel them so they can get on their way,” he said.

Giving away our birthright. Next thing you know they'll be fining us for going slow in the left-hand lane...

http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2015/04/oregon_left_lane_hogs_banned_b.html

I don't think they should be allowed to pump their own gas either.




Dave

It's beyond time that the Oregonad Lawmakes do this. It's a major inconvenience to both Oregonians and travelers through the State.

My memory must be going because I thought I had filled up in the middle of nowhere Oregon before after closing.

But I do hate the full-serve OR law. Takes for fricken ever to fuel up, especially at a busy gas station.

Those Oregon lawmakers better think twice about letting people pump their own gas...! Just look at ALL of the problems the other 48 states have as a result of letting people pump their own gas...!




<rollin' eyes emoticon>
<WTF emoticon>
<sarcasm emoticon>

CT was at one time too IIRC. I remember getting out to help myself going through there and Oregon on trips and the attendants about freaked out.

Hey...change that back to ...gonad!

laffin'

fixed it...!

Thought it was a typo...my bad. Your accuracy was right on...!

I've flown into Portland a handful of times in recent years to drive across the river to Vancouver for some work. When returning the rental car I always fill up on the Washington side of the river. Sorry Oregon, you just lost out on my tax money.

Generally more expensive across the river in the 'Couve, FWIW.

Yep, pay more in WA for the chance to do it yourself.

We get through OR quite often, sometimes with our diesel pickup. I don't mind the full service but I do hate the new signs for diesel prices. OR now has PUC cards for truckers. They don't pay the tax at the pump but rather are billed for it separately. So, they put the no-tax prices up on the signs. In addition, they'll often have different cash and credit prices. So, what you see will often be a price for a trucker with a PUC card and paying cash. It's hard to know exactly what price you're paying.

You gotta love that the politicians in Oregon determined the people that elected them are too fugging stupid to pump gasoline.





Dave

I bet I have 5x more experience of pumping gas than 75% of the kids hired to do it.

Naw, just worried Montanans might get out of the car and wander off...

It was principle

I love to jump out and grab the pump handle in Oregon. It still cracks me up.

Lot of strange folk in Oregon. The PNW for that matter.

It is anything but boring!

True!

I was in Portland a few weeks ago for work. Friendliest hobo's I've ever seen! One young hobo/addict jumped on the city rail car and asked me for a dollar. I told him no and he looked so disappointed. Then he explained how bad he felt riding the train with out paying fare. A hobo with a conscience!

It was hilarious.

It helps when you know your constituents...." if they can't pump gas...we can talk them into anything....."

Think of it as working welfare. The law was always kept on the books because it guaranteed jobs, which works better in cities than rural area's with low volume pumps. Things might be tough, but you could always find a job pumping gas at minimum wage. To be honest, I would rather have someone pump my gas than sit on their but and collect welfare as communist as that sounds.

As a Oregon native who's been in Montana almost a decade, I almost have the pump your own gas thing figured out :P .

Jobs??? Was ain't supposed to have jobs here we are only to be here to pay China to do all our work.

Last fall I flew to Eugene for a job. When I got ready to turn in the rental I whipped into a station near the airport around 5:00 am.

No one around, I just got out stuck the card in the reader slot and filled 'er up.

We went in to get a cup of coffee and I thought Achmed was gonna' have a stroke.

You'll put your eye out with that nozzle and set your
clothes on fire every time. Don't do it!!

And bang all your women.




Dave

Too funny. You guys crack me up.

Have at it...

Is the one on the right Bruce Jenner II?

I guess I need to travel more. 27 years of driving and I have never been to a full service gas station. I've pumped my own gas every time.

'She's' 'transitioning'. And she prefers Rebecca.

No problem,,,,, armpit hair is a turn on for a sheep men.

Them're Oregon womens?

you see cars in Northern California, pull up to the pumps and just sit there, until someone meanders over and tell them they have to pump their own gas.....

or you're from Oregon and say been on a trip down to Texas for a Campfire GetToGether, and you pull up at the station in your home town and get out and start to fill your own car up.... until one of the local teenagers or 20 somethings come over and freak out right in front of you.....

older guys really don't care... they usually start off with " just coming back from an out of state trip, huh? where did ya go?"

I have to admit, after living here 20 years now, I still think Oregon does it this way, to give job security to the habitually stupid.... ya know, Democrats who can't figure out how to fill out the welfare forms, food stamp forms and their Medical Marijuana Card Application...

username;
Good evening to you sir, hopefully the week treated you well.

I had to think about the last time I saw someone pump gas before our family traveled to Oregon a few summers back and truly I believe it mostly went away up on this side of the medicine line by the early '80's.

Honestly it was entertaining in some ways as I got to tell some "old timer" stories to our teen aged daughters to whom it was an entirely new experience.

Anyway we really enjoyed our visit to Oregon, both the scenery and the folks there put it on our list of places to return to someday.

All the best to you this weekend sir - wherever your travels take you.

Dwayne

In OR you still don't get full service. They pump the gas but they don't clean the windshield or check your oil. A lot of the bigger stations will hire 1 or 2 flunkies to handle a dozen pumps. They have to run between pumps to keep up and you usually have to wait.

I figured that's the way it was. I know that it's to prevent drive offs.

So don't they trust the people to be smart enough to pump their own or is it a "control issue" by the socialists in power?

Shall we go down the list of Oregonians?




Dave

Dibs



Clark

Sounds just like Old Mexico......

The people that recognize laws like this crack me up. It's really no wonder how a bunch of big nosed cheap asses ended up willingly waltzing into cattle cars in the 40's.

There are some laws you just don't recognize, no matter what anybody tells you.

Examples would be concealed carry regs, switchblade bans, sodomy, jaywalking, open containers, seatbelts, and MAKING SOMEBODY ELSE PUMP YOUR FUGGING GASOLINE!


Clark

You forgot motorcycle helmet laws. Those can be ignored too. They're just silly.

It was not an all inclusive listing.




David

If you have a pump card like CFN or Pacific Pride you can pump your own gas. Been doing it for about 20 years.

That's cool.



Travis

I think you missed the point.
Why the fugg do you need a card to pump your own friggin gasoline?
I've been doing it for 33 years now. No card.

Mohondas.

and the same thing holds true for CC as deflave pointed out


Constitution already says you have the right to bear arms


why do you need a card to tell you "yep it really is ok for you to live under our Constitution"?

Have you seen how Oregonians drive? Now wonder they wont let them pump there own gas.

On the other side of this, used to be you'd pull into a gas station/filling station/service station and at least one guy would come out, pump your gas, check your oil, wash your windshield and if you asked would check the air in your tires and fill them if they needed it - and charge you 35 cents per gallon or less for the gas.

They only did that because everyone was stupid back then.

Not even close to being relevant/true.

It wasn't a LAW. It was a service included in the price of fueling your vehicle.

Having lived in Oregon and Washington since May of 1977 I have seen self serve and no self serve. I do think it kind of stupid that Oregon does not have self serve except for card lock services and those are restricted to business use only.

However it cracks me up when so many vehemently bitch about not being able to pump your own. Do you guys like getting out in the cold, horizontal ice, rain, sleet and snow to grab an nozzle that reeks of spilled gas to pump your own? Do you like to make your wife do the same thing when she is all dressed up coming or going to work? do you like paying extra to pump your own in WA?

Then I read how stupid we are and it is somehow linked to concealed carry. Yes we have to get a shall issue concealed carry permit but Oregon carry laws aren't all that bad. Can you carry in bars and schools where you live? If not then you are just stupid for living where you can't.

However, we can hunt on Sundays. And we can hunt doves.

Yep, we can carry open and we can hunt with suppressed firearms.

I believe it is time to do away with the no self serve laws but I still find it funny how many folks it pisses off.

I can sail down I-84 through Idaho at 80 mph even though Idaho's roads are less than perfect. Then I cross the Oregon border and have to hit the brakes as their limit is 65...but their roads are in FAR better shape than Idaho's. On 2 lane highways, Idaho's limit is 60 or 65, OR's is 55. They've never got over Nixon's 55 mile speed limit.

That's for damn sure...!

And they seem to be proud of their $105 seat belt tickets.
They fine you for not protecting yourself BUT you are allowed X amount of personal use marijuana....

After July 1

You know I'm reconsidering it. Getting out to pump gas would give the Montanans a chance to pull the panties out of their cracks. What a bunch of whiners.

But there are no strange laws in MT

Prostitution is considered a “crime against the family”.

One may not pretend to abuse an animal in the presence of a minor.

It is a felony for a wife to open her husband’s mail.

It is a misdemeanor to show movies that depict acts of felonious crime.


In Montana, it is illegal for married women to go fishing alone on Sundays, and illegal for unmarried women to fish alone at all.

It is illegal for a man and a woman to have sex in any other position other than missionary style.

Seven or more indians are considered a raiding or war party and it is legal to shoot them.

It is illegal to have a sheep in the cab of your truck without a chaperone.

LINK

That sheep one is just good sense from the Montana's experience.

In all fairness we are not exempt from really stupid laws either.

Drivers must yield to pedestrians who are standing on the sidewalk.

One may not test their physical endurance while driving a car on a highway.

It is illegal to place a container filled with human fecal matter on the side of any highway.

Babies may not be carried on the running boards of a car.

Drivers may not pump their own gas.

A door on a car may not be left open longer than is necessary.

An adult may not show a minor any piece of classical artwork which depicts sexual excitement.

Dishes must drip dry.

The “Peer Review Statute” prohibits you from finding out details of any written or oral discussion about your medical treatment.

It is illegal to whisper “dirty” things in your lover’s ear during sex.

Ice cream may not be eaten on Sundays.
It is illegal to buy or sell marijuana, but it is legal to smoke it on your own property.

One may not bathe without wearing “suitable clothing,”

Canned corn is not to be used as bait for fishing.
City Laws in Oregon


Beaverton
You must buy a $10 permit to be allowed to install a burglar alarm.

Eugene
It is illegal to show movies or attend a car race on Sundays.
It is legal to conduct a horse race or a symphony concert.

Hood River
Juggling is strictly prohibited without a license.

Klamath River
It’s illegal to walk down a sidewalk and knock a snakes head off with your cane.

Marion
You cannot eat a doughnut and walk backwards on a city street.

Good point! Sweet baby Jesus knows that many more people are killed with that devil weed than motor vehicle accidents.

You dumb [bleep] that probably cannot even correctly pronounce Oregon are a never ending supply of mis-information about this state.

Keep up the good work!

Well you Montana Guys have Rauncho Bozo, so that should cancel most of we Oregonians out...

I wouldn't want my sheep alone in a truck with someone from Montana

I used to live in Oregon. This is one of the stupidest laws in the country. The fact that NJ has the same law, should be a clue.

No wonder jeffo couldn't open a damn Nosler bullet box.