Oregon Motorcyclist - Motorcycle Roads in Oregon

"You know more of a road by having traveled it than by all the conjectures and descriptions in the world." - William Hazlitt

Oregon Gas Pumping Laws

REGULATION OF GASOLINE DISPENSING
Statute: ORS 480.330
Title: Operation of gasoline dispensing device by public prohibited; aviation fuel exception.
Text: An owner, operator or employee of a filling station, service station, garage or other dispensary where Class 1 flammable liquids, except aviation fuels, are dispensed at retail may not permit any person other than the owner, operator or employee to use or manipulate any pump, hose, pipe or other device for dispensing the liquids into the fuel tank of a motor vehicle or other retail container.

On June 11, 2001, Oregon motorcyclists won the right to pump their own gas. Governor John Kitzhaber signed House Bill 3885 into law, which gives motorcyclists the choice of fueling their own bikes. Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states which prohibit "Self-Serve" gas pumps, and now motorcycles will be the only class of vehicle allowed to actually dispense fuel into their own tanks in Oregon, effective January 1, 2002.

HB3885 passed with very few opposed in both the House and Senate, and most lawmakers agreed with BikePAC and Oregon's motorcyclists that the special fueling requirements of various bikes made the rider the expert at fuel dispensing. This bill also removes a liability for gas station owners who permitted the common sense practice of allowing bikers to fuel their own.

REGULATION OF GASOLINE DISPENSING
Statute: ORS 480.349
Title: Use of gasoline dispensing device by motorcycle operator
(1) As used in this section, "motorcycle" has the meaning given that term in ORS 801.365.
(2) Notwithstanding ORS 480.330 and 480.340:
(a) Upon the request of an operator of a motorcycle, the owner, operator or employee of a filling station, service station, garage or other dispensary where Class 1 flammable liquids are dispensed at retail shall set the fuel dispensing device and hand the discharge nozzle to the operator of the motorcycle.
(b) An operator of a motorcycle who is handed a discharge nozzle under paragraph (a) of this subsection:
(A) May dispense Class 1 flammable liquids into the operator's motorcycle.
(B) Shall, after dispensing the liquids, return the discharge nozzle to the owner, operator or employee.
(3) The owner, operator or employee who is handed the discharge nozzle shall return the nozzle to the pump or take any other actions necessary to ensure safe completion of the fueling operation.

The reality is that while most gas station attendants hand the nozzle to you, they nearly always allow you to put the nozzle back in the pump yourself. The actual practice at the pump is not quite as restrictive as the word of the law.