New Jersey has spoiled me and I have zero desire to get out of my car in the winter and pump gas. During the winter in Pittsburgh, when I am at school, I complain like a 4 year old every time I have to step out and fill up. Most Dopers may not care about this, as it does not affect them, but I enjoy the lazy satisfaction of pulling into a gas station and barely exerting enough energy to pull out my wallet.
Would a passing mod please close this thread? Thanks.
Why Close it?
I heard this today and it annoyed the hell out of me. Corzine will never need to pump his own gas. Especially on a Cold Snowy day. I like that NJ has Required service. It is a nice little perk to living in the mostly densely populated state.
I voted for him and this feels like a betrayal. He also is talking about lowering the speed limit to 55 which is insane. NJ highways are too crowded now. Have people move slower on them will make them more crowded, leading to more massive delays. Gas will not be saved.
Jim
I though that this thread may be too similar to this thread in GQ. Maybe it is not.
55 is ridiculous. The summer that I first got my license I used to commute to Newark, starting out on the turnpike and ending on the parkway. As a new driver I was always amazed by the fact that the flow of traffic continued at turnpike speed even though the parkway is only 55.
I also wonder how effective of a campaign it will be to only change the gas stations on the turnpike. Do native residents even use those stations that often? In my experience, those stations seem unreasonably high for our state.
This post will probably get me a warning from a mod: I will post my intent to break the law.
I was born and raised in North Jersey, where all I knew in life was that you pull up to the gas station, some dude takes his sweet freakin’ time getting over to you, opens your tank, puts the nozzle in, and then walks off. . .
. . . and then comes back about ten or fifteen minutes after the pump has stopped because your tank is full. Then I have to again wait for him to run inside to make my change. Dammit, I could have had all of this, and a case of beer bought and paid for already if I were in Montana or North Dakota.
Not that I’m in a huge rush to anything, but this little waiting game has always irked me. I have to wait for some dude to do something, solely because the State says so, when I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself–and with less time wasted. Hell, I guarantee I could have pumped my pickup truck full and bought a case of beer in less time than it usually took me to just fill up in Jersey. But no, us “unwashed masses” are too ignorant to figure out that one must flip the lever up before the pump will dispense.
Anyway, when I pass through the Garden State this summer on my way down to Georgia, I’m going to pull up to the pump in my pickup truck with North Dakota plates, hop out, and start fillin’ my own damn gas. And I don’t give a f*ck who thinks they’re gonna stop me. This is America, a land all about freedom. I choose the freedom of pumping my own damned 88.5-octane gas, and not waiting on someone else, thankyouverymuch.
It’s about damn time they allowed some common sense to filter back down to the people.
Tripler
And all that over some stupid full-service law. 
Cry me a river, folks…
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Pumping your own gas is nothing. Please- you do exit your vehicle at some point in the winter, right? Many of us have been doing this in extreme heat, rain, sleet and snow, and we’re all okay. The stations have this cool thing called a roof, that seems to keep stuff of of you. Look into it.
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55 mph speed limit? Merely a guideline- just ask those of us who live in states where 55 was the legal limit for decades.
Quit your bitchin’.
As I understand it, New Jersey and Oregon are the only two states that do not allow self-serve. Why would self-serve not be allowed - some sort of safety issue?
I agree with the dissenters. I live in Southern Washington…and if I can help it, I will never buy my gas in oregon. If oregon doesn’t feel I’m capable of pumping my own gas, I don’t feel like I have to spend my money there.
Seriously folks, it’s not rocket science. Your car is vastly more complicated then the gas pump. And those of us in the other 48 manage to get along just fine with self service.
Hahaha. Oh man, I have (ok, a little, but some) sympathy for you Frosted Glass. 
I didn’t learn how to pump gas until I was 27 years old and moved from NJ (also Exit 9) to PA. You do get spoiled.
From what I can tell, Oregon thinks it’s an environmental issue (though I honestly can’t see why). Peasants don’t have the skill or training to pump gas without destroying the planet, I guess.
New Jersey- could it be a training thing? Like a bunch of people will be out of work? Who knows…
New Jerseyites, quit yer whinin’. It’s faster and more convenient to pump your own gas. Also, having driven through Jersey half a million times between Ithaca and Staten Island, I call tell ya, you rgas prices are already waaaaaaaaay cheaper than the ones in either Ithaca or SI, so if you’re going to save a little money pumping your own, you should not be complaining. It’s not a big deal at ALL.
Oh please, no disrespect intended, but we’ve been pumping our own gas here in Washington forever. It is faster, more convenient, and cheaper.
I hated going down to Oregon to visit my Dad. The gas down there was always way more expensive because we couldn’t pump our own.
Really, it’s no big deal and quite simple to do.
I’ve pumped my own gas for years in other states. I just happen to like the fact we have Service Stations that pump the gas. It is pleasant in the Winter or the Rain to stay in your car and not get out. Is it a big deal? No of course not. But it is a nice little service we get and I would hate to lose it. It also won’t lower gas prices very much.
The changing of the Speed limit is just dumb, the Limit is 65 now for most highways and the average speed heading south on the GSP is more like 75mph.
NJ is the state of commuters. It is just what most of us do. Lowering the Speed limit will probably guarantee that Corzine will be a 1 term governor.
I’m not even sure if the Hybrid Cars being allowed to use the commuter lanes is a good idea. If you let too many cars use the commuters lanes, they stop being effective for anyone. I love the idea of encouraging Hybrids, but this might not be the way to do it.
Jim
Just because a state allows Self-service pumps. Doesn’t mean you HAVE to pump your own gas.
While I realize the trend is for the newer gas stations to be those multi-pump mega stations and all pumps are self serve with only a clerk in the convince store part to sell cigarettes, soda, and take cash (if you still incest on paying that way).
You should still be able to find plenty of stations that offer both full service
and self service. AKA Garages … you know where you can have an oil change
ect!!!
Shhheeaasshh
There are still gas station attendants? :eek:
Been pumping my own gas since I got my driver’s license in 1979. I thought the service station guy had gone the way of the dodo bird and free road maps.
Doing it in the winter isn’t all that bad, really. You’ll adjust.
Mainly in Oregon and New Jersey.
Wait a minute.
This is a joke, right?
You’re telling me it is a crime in New Jersey to pump your own gas?
:eek: 
Why? What is the reasoning for this bill? Surely the folks in North Dakota and Minnesota, where it gets just as cold in winter (if not colder) have managed to pump their own gas without freezing to death? Is there some huge gas station lobbying group in NJ? Some powerful union of gas station pump jockeys?
I think I’d laugh in someone’s face if he tried to wrest the pump from my hand. Yeesh.
Years ago, when the national speed limit was 55, I was a commuter in LA.
Nobody, except a very few daring drivers ever drove at that speed limit. You’d get either rear ended or at the very least honked at and given the middle finger salute from others you were holding up. I drove for years doing 65 and never had a problem, as did most other drivers. The highway patrol seldom pulled anyone over as they knew that if everyone kept the 55 limit the freeways would be a total mess.
Lowering the speed limit is NOT the answer.
I do think that lower the speed limit from 65 to 55 on freeways is kind of lame. We did for a long time out here, and it turned out to not be much of a help. So we are back up to 65 on freeways and highways.
It was odd for me growing up in NJ, then moving to AR and having to pump my own gas. I remember the days of pulling up to any number of Mobil stations and just saying “Fill it up super.”
Course now I still don’t pump my own gas, my husband does that.