As a Jersey girl , I grew up riding in cars that were serve bygas stationattendants . While they were fill up your tank , they also crown off your railway car ’s fluids ( radiator , washing machine fluid , oil ) , scavenge your windscreen and asked if you needed anything else .
When I first visited Georgia , I was gobsmacked to discover that there were no flatulence attendants . Let ’s take a little route trip back in metre to find out why , to this sidereal day , it ’s still illegal to pump your own gas in New Jersey .
A Bit of Gas History
The official forbiddance on self - serve gas in Jersey begin in 1949 with theRetail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act , citing prophylactic concerns like fervor endangerment . But like a lot of things New Jersey , there ’s really a more sinister reason for the forbidding that ’s worthy of a Tony Soprano storyline .
According to a 2019story by journalist Paul Mulshine , the legislation supposedly develop as a maneuver to fixgas pricesand stop an enterprising occupation owner from undercut his competitors . In 1949 , Irving Reingold opened a 24 - heart gas station on Route 17 in Hackensack . He offered flatulence at 18.9 cents a gal when others were selling for 21.9 cents . The only prerequisite was that his customer had to pump it themselves .
The idea was a hit with his customers , and they draw up for block , consort to Mulshine . His competitors ? Not so much . When shooting up his gas station did n’t dissuade Reingold , thanks to bullet - proof field glass , ( apparently , he was carry a negative response ) , the rival owners turned to the law for a solution . They carry the state to pass a resolve outlawing ego - service gas , which quickly passed , and Reingold was out of the gas business and consumers returned to paying high throttle prices .
Hit the Brakes on Progress
In the ensuing decades there have been challenges to the law . The first , in 1951 , fail . By the late seventies , every U.S. state except for New Jersey ( and Oregon ) had overturned their BAN on ego - serve stations .
In 1981 , New Jersey Assembly extremity Gerald Cardinaleintroduced new legislationto overturn the state ’s prohibition on ego - serve station . Cardinale carry on to do so as he get on to the nation Senate , still to no avail . Consumersalmosthad a choice in 1988 when Kirschner Brothers Oil Company filed suit of clothes against the state , claim that " the natural law is antiquated and that customer ought to have a choice between full service and self - armed service . " A Superior Court evaluator initially side with the troupe but later , anappeals court override the conclusion , adduce the 1951 ruling from the New Jersey Supreme Court .
So , what about Oregon ? In 2015 , thestate eased its lawby allowing self - serve gun in some rural and tribal areas , leave New Jersey as the lone statewide holdout . Some might call it archaic ; I consider it nostalgic ( and slightly spoiled ) .
