You right that my comment was unnecessarily harsh and I regret having it worded like that. I deleted it because it does not provide anything meaningful to the discussion of the article.

In Europe self pumping is the norm with few exceptions. If you can't self pump you have to call the gas station in advance and ask if assistance is available. Many places are understaffed so it might not be possible everywhere here. Personally I don't know elderly who have difficulties pumping yet still drive a car. Once it comes to that most people put their driver license to rest, but I understand that is not an option for everyone.

Apologizes again for my initial comment that was detrimental to a healthy discussion about that topic.