As I drove around recently on my weekly field
trip to fill up the gas tank, it occurred to me that I couldn’t be the
only driver in America who was frustrated.
Frustrated not just because the price of gas is obscenely high, but
also because it’s so difficult to find a gas station where an attendant
will pump my gas.
Self-serve stations rule the roadways, except for a couple of states
like New Jersey and Oregon. That makes things very tough for the
thousands of drivers with disabilities, and the elderly, too, who can’t
do it themselves. Many of those drivers are on limited incomes. They
pay a few cents more per gallon if they need to gas up at one of the
dwindling number of full-serve stations.
I hope that editors and reporters will realize that this is an
important story that has not yet been fully told. And it’s a story
that’s more important than what it costs to fill up the tank of an SUV
because it involves equal access and fairness. Disabled and elderly
drivers don’t avoid self-serve stations out of laziness. They do it out
of necessity.
Let me share my personal experience at the self-serve island.
- I find it dangerous to squeeze my wheelchair between the car and
the island and to try to get close enough to the pumps and the gas tank. - I can’t reach the hose, the buttons that activate the flow of
gasoline or the opening for my credit card. Lifting the hose is nearly
impossible. - Even if I managed to pump a few gallons, I couldn’t return the hose to its rightful place.
- I can’t reach the receipt.
Get the picture?
The authors of the Americans with Disabilities Act certainly did. Here’s what that legislation requires:
Self-serve gas stations (must) provide equal access to
their customers with disabilities. If necessary, to provide access, gas
stations must —
- Provide refueling assistance upon the request of an individual
with a disability. A service station, or convenience store, is not
required to provide such service at any time that it is operating on a
remote-control basis with a single employee, but is encouraged to do
so, if feasible.- Let patrons know (e.g., through appropriate signs) that
customers with disabilities can obtain refueling assistance by honking or otherwise signaling an employee.- Provide the refueling assistance without any charge beyond the self-serve price.
But owners and employees routinely ignore this law. I’d bet that most
owners and employees of gas stations don’t even know it exists. Finding
out whom or what enforces the law is a big mystery.
When my gas gauge hovers on “E,” I’ve been known to drive into a
self-serve station and ask a stranger to pump the gas for me. So far,
they’ve kindly done it. Luckily, no one has grabbed my credit card and
run.
Here’s a story to tell on this hot-button topic of the rising cost of
gas: Many people in your community who are disabled or elderly
are running out of luck at the pump. They’re the people who need their
cars or vans to take care of their daily needs. There aren’t many
other transportation options for them. They often travel alone or with
others who also can’t work a gas pump.
These drivers are worried about the cost of gas — and their access to
it. But they worry silently because they don’t think anyone cares.
