# Pumping gas isn't rocket surgery you lazy twit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 12, 2016, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976 "2016-04-12T04:22:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/141 "2016-04-14T18:43:19Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Au contraire. Most stations only have 1 attendant and it’s just coincidence if he happens to be busy with another customer. Since the pumps are auto, it’s not like he has to stand there waiting for the other car to fill up. > > And due to the presence of an actual attendant, stupid drivers can’t manage to get their cars facing each other and create a traffic issue. > > And this is in North Jersey, where the population density is higher. OTOH we also have a lot of gas stations. I think we all know that pumps are automatic :rolleyes: . Still if the attendant has to spend ANY time with another customer it will be slower for you than just pumping your own gas. Attendants direct traffic? :rolleyes: :dubious: I used to be a pump jockey and I can guarantee you that I or anyone else working at the station NEVER attempted to direct traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/142 "2016-04-14T18:58:52Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I think we all know that pumps are automatic :rolleyes: . Still if the attendant has to spend ANY time with another customer it will be slower for you than just pumping your own gas. > > Attendants direct traffic? :rolleyes: :dubious: I used to be a pump jockey and I can guarantee you that I or anyone else working at the station NEVER attempted to direct traffic. I mentioned the first part because I know that in most self-serve states, they are not. So someone that never experienced the wonders of a NJ gas station may picture an attendant squeezing a pump for 5 minutes, like they have to do themselves. While you’re right about the directing traffic part, we somehow never have the problems of drivers facing each other at the pump, and then getting boxed in. And I KNOW this happens all the time at PA and upstate NY stations. Perhaps I’m giving too much credit to our attendants and not enough to our thoughtful drivers, who clearly have the freedom to think ahead vs. needlessly figuring out the vagaries of the self-serve lane, e.g. which car has a driver that’s filled up but left his car on the line while he’s left for a piss, which pumps are slow, etc. ETA: My numerous experiences in PA and NY are mostly limited to the freeway rest stops. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/143 "2016-04-14T19:03:01Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I mentioned the first part because I know that in most self-serve states, they are not. So someone that never experienced the wonders of a NJ gas station may picture an attendant squeezing a pump for 5 minutes, like they have to do themselves. Ah. I’ve heard of that. Never run into it myself and I have driven all over this country. At least coast to coast a few times. I wonder what states don’t allow for the automatic shut off pumps? Where you have to hold it the whole time. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/144 "2016-04-14T19:15:55Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I mentioned the first part because I know that in most self-serve states, they are not. So someone that never experienced the wonders of a NJ gas station may picture an attendant squeezing a pump for 5 minutes, like they have to do themselves. I’ve been in a lot of self-service states and never encountered this. So even if, as you claim, it exists somewhere, it’s not germane to the self-service vs full-service issue. > [@](#): > > While you’re right about the directing traffic part, we somehow never have the problems of drivers facing each other at the pump, and then getting boxed in. And I KNOW this happens all the time at PA and upstate NY stations. Perhaps I’m giving too much credit to our attendants and not enough to our thoughtful drivers, who clearly have the freedom to think ahead vs. needlessly figuring out the vagaries of the self-serve lane, e.g. which car has a driver that’s filled up but left his car on the line while he’s left for a piss, which pumps are slow, etc. I myself have on occasion stopped facing another car at the pump, if that’s the only slot available. Not an issue at all - you can just back out. And even if there’s someone waiting behind you (a situation that you seem to claim never exists anyway) it’s not any different than getting out of a streetside parking spot. This is not an issue. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/145 "2016-04-14T19:16:22Z")
So how do you keep from spraying yourself with gasoline? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/146 "2016-04-14T19:28:45Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > So how do you keep from spraying yourself with gasoline? What are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/147 "2016-04-14T19:29:10Z")
Hazmat suit. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/148 "2016-04-14T19:45:07Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > So how do you keep from spraying yourself with gasoline? The pumps shut off automatically. You would only spray yourself with gasoline if you tried to force more in after the pump stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/149 "2016-04-14T19:55:35Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The pumps shut off automatically. You would only spray yourself with gasoline if you tried to force more in after the pump stopped. Safety tip: take a good look in your gas tank to see how full it is before adding more. You can use a cigarette lighter to help you see. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/150 "2016-04-14T20:39:24Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > There is a particular station around here that has three options before you swipe your card on the pump. > > 1. Pay inside > 2. Pay outside credit > 3. Pay outside debit > > Anytime that I have paid at the pump at that station, I press option #2, and swipe the card, and every time I have done so, the very next question it asks is, “Is this a debit card?”:smack: Try just swiping your card without picking anything first, it will probably take you right to the debit question. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/151 "2016-04-14T20:57:47Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > So how do you keep from spraying yourself with gasoline? I lol’d Seriously, as someone who has always pumped his own gas, I never thought of it as the big deal that it apparently is. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/152 "2016-04-14T22:25:10Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Why don’t you just put in $20 and go every other week? It’s only a 10 gallon tank, so unless gas is at $2.50 or more a gallon $20 will probably be more than a fill up. I do try to keep a bit of a reserve in there rather than driving down to just fumes. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/153 "2016-04-15T02:38:53Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > My bank (specifically a credit union) says “yes, it’s ok” but never puts a hold on my account. If there is some requirement that there’s a hold, since it’s not on my account, they must be using it on their end of the funds and “eating the risk” so to speak. I check my balances very regularly, sometimes immediately after a transaction or authorization, and I have never had a hold or reduction of my available credit or bank balance at any point, any time. Not for gas, hotels, shopping, rentals, etc. My credit union posts approximately half of my purchases immediately. Any that take a day or two to clear are only for the exact amount I authorized, never for some greater amount until it posts, and are only immediately after I make an actual purchase, not after any pre-authorization. Holds are soft or memo posted; they only reduce the available balance, which is not the same as account balance. If your account isn’t on fumes, you probably wouldn’t run into it. > [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > While you’re right about the directing traffic part, we somehow never have the problems of drivers facing each other at the pump, and then getting boxed in. And I KNOW this happens all the time at PA and upstate NY stations. Perhaps I’m giving too much credit to our attendants and not enough to our **thoughtful drivers** , who clearly have the freedom to think ahead vs. needlessly figuring out the vagaries of the self-serve lane, e.g. which car has a driver that’s filled up but left his car on the line while he’s left for a piss, which pumps are slow, etc. > > ETA: My numerous experiences in PA and NY are mostly limited to the freeway rest stops. Clearly you’re posting while on crack! I see cars every which way at local NJ gas stations (as opposed to Turnpike reststops), & yes, people go inside at Wawa gas stations. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/154 "2016-04-15T03:03:06Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Ah. I’ve heard of that. Never run into it myself and I have driven all over this country. At least coast to coast a few times. > > I wonder what states don’t allow for the automatic shut off pumps? Where you have to hold it the whole time. The only place I’ve run into it was in NY. I never did figure out if it was state law or just lots and lots of owners deciding to remove the little latch from the pump handle. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/155 "2016-04-15T04:07:03Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I once heard it described as Southern California driving with all the aggression but none of the skill. About sums it up for me. Not as bad as drivers in Idaho, though. > > And in Idaho, you can pump your own damn gas if you want to. Bad drivers in Idaho are just transplants who don’t have a fucking clue. The Stoopid on the roads gets worse every year as more and more people move here. None of Y’all spend much time driving in Utah do you? Yeah at least we get to pump our own gas though, Jersey sounds like it has a requirement for attendants to be asshat dipshits. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/156 "2016-04-15T04:58:22Z")
> [@guestchaz](#): > > Yeah at least we get to pump our own gas though, Jersey sounds like it has a requirement for attendants to be asshat dipshits. Nah. Most are fine. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/157 "2016-04-15T05:10:15Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > The only place I’ve run into it was in NY. I never did figure out if it was state law or just lots and lots of owners deciding to remove the little latch from the pump handle. They have them here in the Chicago area in certain places. That is to say, they have the little locking latch removed, but the shut-off still works. I just jam the gas cap into the handle to get around that problem and go about my business normally. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/158 "2016-04-15T07:35:47Z")
lance armstrong is a whiny git, but using the word “retarded” as an insult in this day and age is no different than saying “faggot” or “nigger.” The mentally challenged have told you it is offensive to them, and even made national television ads to ask you stop using it. And before you say I’m humorless or looking to be offended, may I remind you that people flipped the fuck out over a silly anti-cash joke? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/159 "2016-04-15T09:26:24Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Ah. I’ve heard of that. Never run into it myself and I have driven all over this country. At least coast to coast a few times. > > I wonder what states don’t allow for the automatic shut off pumps? Where you have to hold it the whole time. Latch-open devices on self-service gas pumps were actually banned federally for 11 years, between 1971 and 1982, until Saint Reagan (blessed be His name) decided to “get the government off the backs of the people”, to wit: In a move that Auchter termed “a prime example of what President Reagan means when he says we should ‘reduce the unnecessary regulatory burden,’” OSHA rescinded its ban on the use of latch-open devices on pump nozzles at self service gas stations. The rule had been included in the National Fire Protection Association’s code that OSHA adopted in 1971. Since then the Association had determined that the latches posed no threat to fire safety and dropped their voluntary ban on them in 1981. OSHA followed suit and dropped its requirement in September 1982. [http://www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/history/osha13auchter.htm](http://www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/history/osha13auchter.htm) It may still be illegal in some states, but otherwise the typical requirement is only to stay outside the car within sight of the fueling. Here in Ontario all self-service pumps have to have the latches removed. Too bad it didn’t prevent spilled gas from totaling [this brand new Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid worth nearly $1 million](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/michael-wekerle-s-porsche-918-spyder-burns-at-caledon-gas-station-1.2781633). My understanding is that some gas spilled on the car body and the genius tried to squeegee it off lest it damage the paint, sending gas into the hot engine vents at the rear where it went poof! and destroyed the car and part of the service station. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976/160 "2016-04-15T10:25:40Z")
I have seen the auto-shutoff fail a few times. Easy enough to stop the spillage if you’re nearby. I did shut off some idiot’s gas in Virginia last winter. She’d gotten into her warm car and came rushing out, static and all, when it started spilling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pumping-gas-isnt-rocket-surgery-you-lazy-twit/751976.md?page=9)