Why is that... I can't pump my own gasoline?

A weekly column that answers why New Jersey is uniquely Jersey.

Q: Why can't I pump my own gasoline? Submitted by Mark M.

Staying cozy comfy in your car on a cold, wintery day as an attendant fills your tank is a bad thing? Most Jerseyites l-o-v-e the full-service station, a 2012 poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University/PublicMind found. Sixty-three percent said keep the ban, with young motorists and women leading the charge, the poll found. New Jersey, along with many other states, passed the self-serve ban in 1949. But only New Jersey and Oregon have kept full service in place after most states abolished it in the 1970s. Pump your own gas here and you face up to a $250 fine.

Monmouth University economics professor Robert H. Scott III , who has studied this topic, said it's a myth that gasoline prices would drop if the ban were lifted. Without an attendant doing the dirty work, fire hazards (think of a motorist driving away with the gas nozzle still in the car) would increase and business insurance rate hikes would burn up any savings, Scott said. Moreover, lifting the ban would put about 14,000 attendants out of a job, he said. Some states have asked him about bringing the self-serve ban back just so low-skilled employees could work. For Scott, who dreaded self-serve fuelings ventures during harsh winters in Colorado and Missouri, the luxury of full service is a plus for New Jersey. "It is the best," he said.

Q: The lights on Route 36, particularly the stretch north from the Highlands up to the entrance of the Garden State Parkway, are not synced in any way. I cannot understand why I leave one red light, only for the next light to turn red. Can we do something about this? Submitted by Courtney D.

A: The short answer is: Yes! The lights will be adjusted shortly, the state transportation department says. New Jersey has a number of roadways with lots and lots of lights, so every motorist has suffered through start-and-stop fits at some point in the Garden State. However, in an era where we can sync our phones to our cars with a touch of a button, why can't traffic signals synchronize their greens and reds? The trouble sometimes stems from electrical problems in the area, which can negatively affect the timing of these lights, requiring manual adjustments by state crews, said Dan Triana of the transportation department.

See a problem on a state roadway? Report it to New Jersey's maintenance page at: www.state.nj.us/transportation

Got a question about New Jersey's unique character? Write Paul at PD'Ambrosio@GannettNJ.com. Please put "Why is that" in the subject field.