Oregon Drivers Can Now Learn To Pump Their Own Gas

[sailorman]

I have been told that at least earlier model vehicles had the filler on the opposite side of the tail pipe and muffler . Safety . Just what I was told by Click and Clack on the radio .

 

[ultrarunner]

Some like old Jags had filler caps on both sides...

 

[63spyder]

I'm from Oregon and think it's about as stupid a law as there is. We're allowed to pump gas into our motorcycles but not our cars.

 

[4570Man]

From the drivers seat, the fuel guage to the right of steering wheel indicates fuel filler door on passenger side of vehicle. If fuel guage is to the left of steering wheel fuel filler on driver side. Only standardization I know of.

That’s false. Although I believe the empty needle is supposed to point to the side with the fuel door. I’ve never seen a gauge that contradicts that.

 

[California]

Similar to my brother... was in the cashier booth and the robber fired point blank at the glass... he quit that night... he did not realize at the time the bullet proof glass was not rated for repeated shots.

Oh boy. 50+ years ago I was going to Merritt College up by the north Oakland city limit, and worked a few hours a week in a Wilshire, then Gulf, station on Telegraph around 53rd. Shortly after I quit for a better job I read that the attendant at another Gulf station down on San Pablo Blvd, also near the north Oakland city limit, was shot to death at night. No bullet proof glass at either. You were supposed to run out, pump the gas unless the owner chose to, wash the windshield, and try to make an oil sale.

But I never had a safety issue, just silly stuff you see in retail. A scammer made $20, confusing a co-worker by swapping bills - four fives for a 20 then 'oops changed my mind' etc. I saw what was happening but didn't get over there soon enough to convince the co-worker to keep the last $20 bill. Of course we were short $20 at closing. Another co-worker was stealing by using trading stamps he stole, for gas purchases on my shift, so my stamps on hand/cash in the till didn't balance. I had to log his purchases and explain to the owner how that scam worked, to show the owner that my cash at the end of the shift was in fact correct. Then I got the explanation that the owner couldn't fire the idiot because his father was a prominent local minister and we would lose business. I decided that working in a factory in west Berkeley that manufactured o-rings was preferable for a college part time job.

 

[Looking4new]

Now how many of you recall when pumping gas was just that? You had to work a lever till the glass tank was full and then you drained out the tank into whatever you were putting the gas in. The amount you used was shown by calibration marks on the tank.

We had a pump like that at the county yard in Formost, AB back in the late '70s.

 

[Looking4new]

My 2001 Jeep Wrangler (TJ) the fill hole is on the drivers' side and on the fuel gauge there is a little arrow pointing to the left.
I too, will NOT buy a vehicle that does not have the filler on the drivers side.

 

[Bird]

The Bounder motorhome we used to live in, and the Ford squad cars that I drove in the '60s had the filler right in the center of the back end (behind the license plate on the Fords). I assume they moved them because of the possible fire hazard in rear end collisions, but that was the most convenient of any I ever saw or used.

Although I believe the empty needle is supposed to point to the side with the fuel door. I’ve never seen a gauge that contradicts that.

That's true for our Ford Escapes.

 

[mcfarmall]

That’s false. Although I believe the empty needle is supposed to point to the side with the fuel door. I’ve never seen a gauge that contradicts that.

I haven't heard this one before...I'll have to check the 5 vehicles in my fleet but I think you might be on to something. Just checked my '03 Odyssey in mid-post. The fuel gauge has the F at 12:00 position and the E at 3:00 position and the fuel filler door is on the drivers side, myth busted on the Ody. 2011 F150 the fuel gauge has the E at the 8:00 position and F at the 4:00 position, directional arrow pointing left by the fuel pump icon and fuel door on drivers side, myth is true! Still have 2 more Tauri (plural of Taurus) and a Fusion but it's too cold out right now.

 

[rScotty]

I'm sure the pump attendant is highly trained and is immune to the very unlucky event of something going wrong.

In the late 1990s, a friend of mine was visiting Oregon and the gas-pumping attendant forgot to take the hose out of her PU tank. She drove off with the handle and about ten feet of hose. It made for an amazing mess.
In fairness, the attendant had no way of knowing that he was dealing with a real life "Calamity Jane". Minor disasters just seem to follow her around.
rScotty