Alone with one other state in the Union--New Jersey--Oregon has never allowed motorists to pump their own gas. Gas is only dispensed by an employee of the retailer. The rules are pretty inflexible. Although I've known one gas jockey to offer the rider of a Harley the gas nozzle because said attendant was willing to let the rider take the chance of spilling a drop on that multi-coated, high-gloss lacquered 3.3-gallon tank.

Oregon resists the tide of 48 states that decided it's okay for motorists--including geriatric grandmothers--to take up the nozzle and pump their own gas for two reasons: Gasoline is dangerous; no self-serve saves jobs.

No self-serve gas in Oregon is a fact of life. And I think most many Oregonians--if they think about it at all--take some maverick pride about it just as we're pretty smug about our lack of state sales tax (a distinction shared with only four other states).

So how to cope with the lack of self-serve gas? I'm pretty discriminating on this. I buy only Arco, the low-cost name brand. I go to the same Arco station when one particular attendant will be there whom I've come to trust. He doesn't spill gas on my paint, he doesn't chip my paint, and he puts the pump on its slow setting so my gas tank doesn't hiccup. That's not much to ask, but getting 100% satisfaction on those expectations can be a challenge.

So if you don't drive a motorcycle, how does one ever pump their own gas in Oregon?

If you own or are employed by a company with a fleet of vehicles (taxis, trucks and such) there are gas stations that are cardlock-operated. The ordinary public doesn't have access to these choices.

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