In New Jersey, it's illegal for drivers to pump their own gas due to the Retail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act, a law enacted in 1949 that cites fire hazards and other safety risks associated with customers handling fuel dispensers. This made New Jersey the last U.S. state to maintain a full ban on self-service stations, as other states gradually repealed similar restrictions starting in the 1970s. While safety was the original justification, the policy has persisted partly to preserve jobs for gas station attendants—estimated at thousands across the state's over 3,000 stations—and due to public support for the convenience it provides. Violating the law can result in fines, and all stations must have attendants on duty to handle pumping.

When my wife buys gas, she tips $2. Most of the time, it is $20 plus $2 but I have seen her only tip $1. And if she only has $1 she tells them she will get them next time.  

We just took a little road trip to CT. So it was fill up in New Jersey (tip) and buy gas in CT on the way home. I pumped the gas myself on the way back home from CT. No tip for me. What I noticed is that even though we paid with a card (fill up) in NJ my wife had two $1 bills in her hand for attendant. I asked her......

"YES. They never get a chance to sit down. I don't even know how they can take a bathroom break. Sometimes it is only a few people to cover many pumps. It is cold, rainy, snowy. I highly doubt they are making much above minimum wage. And they are breathing in benzene all day long."

Benzene is a colorless, flammable liquid with a sweet odor that is a colorless liquid at room temperature. It is both naturally occurring from sources like volcanoes and forest fires, and human-made, found in gasoline, cigarette smoke, and industrial emissions. It is widely used as a precursor for plastics, resins, nylon, and detergents, but its use is limited due to its carcinogenic properties. Exposure can cause a variety of health issues, including blood disorders and cancer.

Here is the point: once you see something, you cannot unsee it. I never knew WHY it was illegal to pump your own gas in NJ. Every time I buy gas now (in NJ) I will be thinking about benzene, and the folks that are pumping my gas so that I don't have to do it myself. And there are people in the world like my wife who try to make things just a little bit better. These are the people that matter. And these people are all around us all the time. We just need to pay attention.

If you live in NJ and you buy gas for your car or truck... you should leave a tip. Try it, it will change everything for at least two people that day. You and the attendant. 


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