It’s Now Legal To Pump Your Own Petrol In Oregon & People Are Losing Their Minds

One thing you may or may not be aware of is that there are two states in the U.S. which forbid drivers from pumping their own petrol. In Oregon and New Jersey, gas station attendants do the pumping for you, while you remain in your car, serenely smiling at the absolute luxury being visited upon you at that precise moment. What a dream!

Well, when it ticked on over to January 1st, Oregon’s law slightly changed. For the first time, in  counties with under 40,000 people (read: rural areas) you are now allowed to pump your own petrol. You are permitted to get out of your car, pop open your petrol hole and shove the nozzle into it, squeezing precious car juice into your vehicle. Freedom!

Except some Oregonians aren’t seeing it that way. A post on the Facebook of local news station KTVL asking locals what they reckon about the new change has attracted some… interesting responses. Though the majority of people either like or are indifferent to the change, there are some who believe being allowed to pump your own petrol is absolutely a harbinger of a world gone mad.

Like Cathy, who thinks that you will be immediately attacked by a drifter if you dare get out of your car:

No! Disabled, seniors, people with young children in the car need help. Not to mention getting out of your car with transients around and not feeling safe too. This is a very bad idea. Grrr

Or Tina, who believes that pumping your own gas will result in an unspeakable stench seeping into your very clothes instantly:

Not a good idea, there are lots of reason to have an attendant helping, one is they need a job too. Many people are not capable of knowing how to pump gas and the hazards of not doing it correctly. Besides I don’t want to go to work smelling of gas when I get it on my hands or clothes. I agree Very bad idea.

(Tina is not wrong on one point – the law does create something in the vicinity of 10,000 jobs. Not particularly high-paying jobs, but they do exist.)

Pray for Sandy, who is 62 and has no intention of learning anything new between now and her death:

I don’t even know HOW to pump gas and I am 62, native Oregonian…..I say NO THANKS! I don’t want to smell like gasoline!

Now that some attention has been brought to this incredible thread, the comments are rapidly filling with bloody clowns and jokesters, and honestly… power to them. Like Zac:

Pumping your own gas is dangerous, that’s why I always keep a katana behind my seat to deal with transients. And although it is a struggle, I refrain from wearing skirts in winter so I don’t get cold while pumping my gas.

Or Kyle, who has told a story which I believe to be false:

One time, my dad came to Oregon and pumped his own gas. The street immediately lit on fire and he caused massive recession countrywide because he took away 20 billion jobs by pumping his own gas. I was in the back seat when brother was nabbed through the locked door by a transient creeper who raised him to be his human ottoman. My dad then tried wiping his windshield but the stuff he used turned out to be sulfuric acid. The car exploded with me in it and I died. My dad lost 3 parenting points because he was 2 feet away fueling his car when he could have had someone else do this very simple task for him.

It’s hard out there, folks.

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