With the decline of full service pumps at gas stations, many disabled drivers are finding it more and more difficult to refill their fuel tanks.
Julie Withers of Milwaukee, who is in a wheel chair and still drives, says it’s a constant concern for her. She says her daughters used to take care of the job before they left for college, but now she has to wait for them to come home or enlist the help of a friend just to get gas.
Withers says it’s just not physically possible for her to pump gas, since her vehicle has the wheelchair lift and gas cap on the same side.
Proposed legislation would make it easier for those drivers, by requiring gas stations with more than one employee on duty to refill the tanks of disabled customers. Signs would have to be posted at each station indicating the law and instructing drivers on how to request help.
The Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers Association supports the bill. The group’s Jennifer Badeau says the signs would serve as a good reminder for employees. However, she stresses those stations with only one employee on duty need to be exempt, since the clerk can’t leave the register.
The bill is being considered by the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:09)
