<p>Funny story…we were at a gas station in PA, pulled in behind a swanky car with NJ plates. The driver steps out, in his tux, and with a swagger goes over to the pump. Then he starts looking inside his car, under the seat, for the gas tank switch. No luck. He starts pressing all the buttons on the door, nothing works. A woman starts yelling from inside the car as she is getting hot. Then she steps out, gorgeous gown, jewelled stilettos, and it happens to be a woman I know, she is just an absolute airhead, she walks over to where the fuel tank is, and flicks the cap open!!! My H and I were simply cracking up at the man’s embarassment.</p>
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<p>I did that trip last week and the NY Thruway ticket came out of a machine into my hand. No attendant there at the first ‘plaza’. Anywhere that there will be people entering OR leaving the highway there would HAVE to be a human being in order to collect the toll. If it’s just entering, it’s done by machine.</p>
<p>One more Jerseyan who enjoys better service for less money!</p>
<p>In the end, New Jerseyans do not reek of gasoline and petrol-fumes when they arrive, fresh and clean, at the social occasion of their choosing. The same cannot be said of Pennsylvanians and New Yorkers….as we all know… </p>
<p>…at least not the cheap ones that manhandle that pump-handle – pumping away into their tank and dribbling that rancid perfume on their shoes; we have professionals for that nasty business.</p>
<p>I’m a New Yorker and love driving through New Jersey, the gas is cheaper and my hands don’t get smelly. What’s not to love?</p>
<p>You aren’t really getting better service for less money. You’re just paying the state through some other kind of tax.</p>
<p>“, most New Jersey drivers (not to be sexist, but particularly the women) would not be caught dead pumping their own gas.”</p>
<p>I don’t live in New Jersey, but I buy most of my gas there and I can’t imagine any circumstances under which I would pump gas. Maybe it’s a geographic thing because Staten Island has mostly full service, but ewwww.</p>
<p>Former Jersey resident, who still has both sides of the family living there (so yeah, I “occasionally” am there visiting)</p>
<p>I have to admit it, it is nice to have someone else stand in the cold and rain pumping my gas for me. But I always get the funny feeling that I would be paying even less if I used self-serve. I mean, you have to pay the salary for the guy pumping your gas somehow, and that usually means you have to add a few cents per gallon to the cost.
What gets my goat is they don’t even give you the option to choose (i.e. one island with full service, one island with self serve that cost a few cents less per gallon). </p>
<p>And don’t even get me started on toll-booth collectors. I remember the toll-booh operators strike on the NJ Turnpike a few years back. Had my blood boiling that most of the money I was paying in tolls goes to their salaries, which were pretty nice for a job the equivilant of handing out tokens at Chucky Cheese. And they wanted more!!! Ever wonder why the tolls are so high for the bridges into New York? The guy you just handed your $20 to for a few bucks change is the reason.</p>
<p>Generally I weigh in on the side of ‘I’m not really patient enough to wait for someone else to pump my gas’. BUT, the other day I was pumping gas, and I heard someone on the other side of the pump say ‘hey, you’re leaking gas’, and I look over, and the guy at the next pump down has gas flowing out from under his car and across the parking lot. He says ‘yeah, I know, I have a leak in the neck of my tank’ and just goes on pumping. I was so stunned I didn’t even think to get his plate and call the police until he was gone. </p>
<p>So, from an environmental standpoint… I’ve also seen people light up while they’re pumping gas. So maybe NJ is on to something.</p>
<p>@jude_36</p>
<p>I’ve also heard people have set homes on fire with their stove. Maybe we oughta outlaw eating at home?</p>
<p>afruff - might not be a bad idea… have you seen the videos of people blowing up their turkey fryers? :)</p>
<p>Messy hands?? Well, this midwestern farm girl has handled far smellier things than gasoline, but I will leave that up to your imagination! We laughed when we traveled through New Jersey last year about the pump law. At least my husband knew this was an issue there and I didn’t accuse the gas station attendant of thinking I couldn’t pump gas just because I was a woman. Seriously, I don’t think I have experienced full-service stations in my neck of the woods in at least 35 years!</p>
<p>I saw some guys filling up a truck with the motor running the other day. I don’t know how dangerous it really is, but I know you’re not supposed to do it.</p>
<p>I was puzzled and contemptuous of this law when I first moved to NJ more than 10 years ago. Now I love the law and hate when I have to fill up out of state. Alas, I am soon going to move to another state and pumping gas is one thing I am not looking forward to. </p>
<p>As an aside for those out-of-state people, just because it says “full service”, don’t expect any real old fashioned service (as in cleaning the windshield, checking the oil, etc). And you don’t have to tip the guy either, unless you want to. If the guy does clean the windshield etc, then I do tip, but this is not the norm. In fact, finding real ‘full service’ in NJ is very difficult, unlike in other states where you just go to the full service lane and pay more.</p>
<p>Also, I’ve heard about people spilling stuff on their computer causing them to get electrocuted. We better get rid of computers as well.</p>
<p>On a related note- did anyone see the movie “Zoolander”? </p>
<p>The tragic “freak gasoline-fight accident” depicted in that movie could not have happened in New Jersey!!</p>
<p>I live in Huntington NY (its on Long Island) there will be one station within the town limits that’s full service, and a few blocks away over the town line, another thats self service.If you want to pump your own you don’t have to go far. Prices are the same.More expensive than NJ by far.I was down in Atlantic City this past weekend and gas was easily 20-25 cents a gallon cheaper there.</p>
<p>I actually like it when I cross the OR border. The only minor glitch arose when we pulled at an Arco gas station that would not take credit cards. I handed the attendant two $20 bills, and she told me I had to go inside to pre-pay since the attendants were not allowed to handle cash.</p>
<p>Another Jersey Girl here who loves to be served! </p>
<p>I have an extraordinarily difficult time getting the gas cap off. I think I just get in a panic about it and the press whilst twisting thing doesn’t quite work for me. But being a Jersey Girl I know how to use my feminine wiles to get big burly men to help me out. I usually start with “I’m from New Jersey and I am an idiot”. Works every time.</p>
<p>As someone who lives near, but not in, New Jersey, I certainly appreciate saving 20 cents + per gallon there, but the no-self-service law makes me bonkers. </p>
<p>First, the attendants are not, um, efficient. It seems to take twice as long per vehicle as it should. There’s nothing like spending 20 minutes in line waiting for a spot at the pump on the turnpike, especially when you’re the only family member who doesn’t get to go to the bathroom while you wait.</p>
<p>Second, despite the proper-handling rationale for the law, roughly one out of every four times I get gas in NJ, the attendant fails to replace the gas cap correctly, which in three or four hours produced a “Check Engine” warning on my car. I used to pay a bunch to have this done every time, until the dealer finally clued me in that I should just re-fill the tank, screw the cap on correctly, and the light would go away in 48-72 hours. Now, when I’m in NJ, I get out of the car and make certain the gas cap is replaced correctly every time. </p>
<p>As I remember, when the law was passed there were two explicit rationales: proper handling of the equipment to avoid environmental damage and waste, and preserving a traditionally important supply of jobs for unskilled workers. Not getting smelly or wet was just a side benefit. Keeping state gas taxes low was explicitly part of the deal, since everyone understood that this was a different sort of tax.</p>