VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Proposed New York bill could bring back gas pump clips
Rosie Rapisarda: Most drivers in New York still have to hold the pump the entire time they get gas. A new bill can change that and I talked to drivers about how they feel about it. At many gas stations across New York, filling up your tank means holding the pump the entire time. No matter the weather, or how long it takes.
Brianna Lanoye: I had traveled for like, a year and a half, and every state I traveled to, it was like, the ease of being able to, like, pump your gas without having to worry about it.
Rapisarda: That difference comes down to one small piece of metal: the hold-open clip. It locks the handle in place so you can step away while your car fills up. They’re allowed in 49 other states… but in New York, they’ve been banned since the 1980s. That could be changing soon. A new proposed bill sponsored by Senator Griffo would let gas stations bring the clips back. In a written statement, Griffo said…”I have heard from constituents about this issue and began to explore and investigate it further. That led to this legislation, which I believe would be supported by many.” Right now in New York, only full-service and certain commercial gas stations are allowed to use the clips. But for everyday drivers… especially in winter… convenience matters.
Lanoye: New York State has heavy snowfall, so I feel like really just the weather… it makes it hard to stand out there and keep holding the gas pump.
Rapisarda: Supporters of the bill say the clips offer freedom, flexibility, and bring New York in line with the rest of the country.
Joseph Sorokes: You clip it on, let it sit. You can look at your phone, do whatever. I like to multitask, it gives me the opportunity to do that.
Rapisarda: But not everyone’s on board. One gas station manager says the clips lead to carelessness.
Jon Cruz: Customers are forgetting they have the clip on the pump, so they’re on their phones. It’s very distracting and they pull away and it rips our pumps off. I feel like that’s the number one problem.
Rapisarda: Still, Griffo believes it’s time New York caught up. If passed, the choice would be up to individual gas stations. Rosie Rapisarda, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)— A new bill in the state legislature could end New York’s decades-old ban on a small piece of metal that many drivers across the country take for granted: the hold-open clip on gas pumps.
The clip, which locks a gas pump’s handle in place while a vehicle refuels, is legal in all 49 other states. But in New York, fire safety regulations have required gas stations to disable them, meaning drivers must hold the nozzle the entire time they pump.
“I had traveled for like a year and a half, and every state I traveled to, it was the ease of being able to pump your gas without having to worry about it,” said Brianna Lanoye, a gas station customer.
Sen. Joe Griffo (R–Rome), who introduced the legislation, says it’s about modernization and giving stations a choice.
Right now, only full-service and some commercial stations are allowed to use the clips. But supporters argue they’re especially useful in bad weather and for parents with young children.
“New York state has heavy snowfall,” Lanoye added. “It makes it hard to stand out there and keep holding the gas pump.”
Joseph Sorokes agrees that the clips will be useful. “The pump shuts off by itself either way. Why do we have to stand there?” he said.
Not everyone is on board. Jon Cruz, a Buffalo Speedway associate manager, says distracted drivers often forget the nozzle is still attached and damage equipment when they drive off.
Griffo’s bill wouldn’t require clips. It would simply allow stations to install them if they choose.