A proposal to allow self-serve at New Jersey gas stations has run into vociferous opposition from people who cite — along with job losses — safety concerns. Apparently New Jerseyites are less intelligent than the residents of 48 other states, or their cars are designed differently:

… Critics of a shift to self-service say pumping their own gas … could create a safety hazard as inexperienced motorists try to fill their tanks …

Bill Dressler, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline Retailers Association and Allied Trades, says there are safety concerns. While attendants are trained, many motorists would be novices. “It could be put in the wrong container,” says Dressler, whose group represents about 2,200 of the state’s 3,800 gas stations. There could be “somebody getting out and smoking and they didn’t turn the engine off.”

In another article, Dressler said

Eight hours of training is required of gas station attendants … Among their responsibilities are knowing which type of containers cannot store gasoline, such as glass. “It’s a dangerous product and they are trained in the correct procedures,” he said.

Training? When I pumped gas in high school, the “training” consisted of five minutes of instruction on how to push the highest priced motor oil.

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Oregon is the only other state to require that attendants pump gas.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 17th, 2006 at 6:14 pm by A Senior Administration Official and is filed under Funny ... to us. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.