"I Just Have to Let It Fill Up Every Time" — Woman Doesn't Know How to Stop Gas Pump

As a New Jersey native, I could name hundreds of reasons why the Garden State slaps. But for brevity purposes, I’ll just narrow it down to my favorite: New Jersey is great because you don’t have to pump your own gas. Alongside Oregon, New Jersey is the only other state where it's illegal to pump your own gas.

That said, when I moved out of the state it was a rude awakening. All of a sudden I had to take responsibility for my own car. Excuse me, but what kind of sick world is this?

The first time I had to do it myself I was terrified about messing up. There are no instructions to read. There is no one to ask for help, and even if there was, they would totally judge you because the majority of Americans have been pumping their own gas since they learned how to drive.

So, when one user on TikTok shared a video about an issue she keeps experiencing while fueling her car at the gas station, I could definitely relate.

“POV: I literally don’t know how to get this thing out of my gas for it to stop pumping, so I just have to fill up every single time,” said a woman named Katie (@katieritchiie) in a TikTok video.

In her video, you can see she attempts to remove the pump from her car but is unable to. Because of this, she waits for her tank to completely fill up so the pump stops pumping gas and she is able to remove it with ease.

Naturally, some users in the comment section were quick to judge Katie and wrote belittling remarks. But others understood her confusion.

One person wrote, "I thought this was only me."

Another said: "The way I've never used one of those before and I would be doing the same thing."

And a third person shared a different problem they experience while getting gas. “I don’t know how to put it down so I hold it the whole time," their comment read.

Fortunately, there were folks who were able to provide some helpful information on what to do if you're ever in a situation like Katie's.

"You have to press the lever again and it should release the metal thingy," informed one user.

Others replied to Katie telling her she should squeeze the handle of the pump and then try to pull it out.

Unfortunately, Katie didn't give any updates on whether or not she finally learned how to master removing the pump from her tank while pumping gas, but we're definitely rooting for her.

You may be wondering why it's illegal to pump your own gas in these two states. Well, it just so happens that during the early 1900s, gas stations with attendants were popular in all states. But by the '70s, the majority switched over to pumping their own gas, according to CNBC.

However, New Jersey and Oregon didn't follow suit and instead passed their own legislation which cited safety concerns and rising costs to consumers as reasons why they didn't want to switch over to self-service gas stations.