"Jersey Girls Don't Pump Gas!"

    I often offer 'Factlets'  which are curious facts that are true, as opposed to 'Factoids' which are facts that everyone assumes to be true. The one for today is that it is indeed a fact that you can't pump your own gas in the state of New Jersey. You could hop in your car and pump your own gas all the way to Florida, except in New Jersey, which may be a state you were going to try avoiding anyway, unless you prefer to have someone pump the gas for you. As you will see, it appears most people would.

   The bill banning self service has been on the Jersey books since 1949. An attempt was just made to alter the bill, but the "Motorist Fueling Choice and Convenience Act" was rejected. The act was supported by the the gasoline retailers and the proponents argued, among other things, that: reducing the overhead costs associated with hiring employees would lower gas prices; that service would be speedier because more lanes could be open and you wouldn't have to wait for the attendants; that it was difficult to find people who wanted to work and that customers should be offered the choice since they were serving themselves already at banks and grocery stores, etc.

   Who would be against "choice and convenience?" Well, as the quotation at the top of this post suggests, Jersey girls. Apparently the quote is often seen on bumpers and T-shirts. A poll conducted at Rutgers found that 90 percent of women preferred to have someone pump their gas and 73 percent of all the people surveyed wanted self-service.  Self-service stations are popular, so the politicians capitulated and the "Retail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act of 1949" remains in force. 

Source: 
"Pump Your Own Gas? No Thanks, Say New Jerseyans," Tracey Tully, New York Times, March 31, 2022.

The Bonus:
   It seems that the only other state that restricts self-service is Oregon, where it is allowed in some rural counties, but not in the urban areas. 
   I am not sure what the situation is in Canada, but it was the case in 2018 that self-service stations were banned in Richmond and Coquitlam, B.C. and may still be. 
   For more about "Service Stations" and the old days when uniformed attendants looked under your hood, washed the windshield and gave you a map when you came out of the clean bathroom, see my Gasoline Stations. 

   While "Gasoline Stations" contains Canadian information, here is some for this post: Just yesterday this funny sign was seen near London, Ontario: "Need Gas? We Have Beans!"