OREGON – Just the thought of pumping their own gas has sent some Oregonians into full freakout mode.
Thanks to a new law that took effect Monday, residents in some rural Oregon counties will soon be allowed to pump their own gas. Aside from that exception, Oregon and New Jersey are the only states that do not allow drivers to fill up their own tanks.
Oregon House Bill 2482 was passed in May and allows people living in Oregon counties with 40,000 residents or less to pump their own petrol.
It wasn’t until Medford, Oregon TV station KTVL posted about the new law on social media that the rest of the country learned just how freaked out some Oregonians are at the mere thought of pumping gas.
Here’s a sampling of the panicked comments:
Others had some fun in the comments after the Dec. 29 post went viral:
Some gas station managers told The Bend Bulletin that employees would continue delivering the same full-service treatment that customers have come to expect since self-service gas was banned in 1951.
“Our regular, longtime customers love coming here and talking to us while we pump their gas,” Shelby Perkins, a cashier at a 76 gas station in Prineville, told the paper.
Perkins told the Bulletin it was quite possible that the local drivers had no idea how to use a gas pump.
Other managers said they would have employees on hand to teach drivers how to pump their gas.