The majority of gas stations currently use computerized pumps that easily adapt to climbing prices, but other, less advanced, mechanical pumps are simply unable to keep up, WFSB-TV in Hartford, Conn., reported Tuesday.

"I remember when I used to get three gallons for a dollar. The pumps couldn't handle $2 back then," Connecticut resident Gene Bergeron said.

Kurt Kozikowski of Bender's Oil Service in Lebanon, Conn., said he's had to shut down half his pumps because they only go up to $3.99 a gallon.

Kozikowski said Bender's is handling rising diesel prices by only putting 50 percent of the actual price on the pump and doubling the total cost when customers are finished pumping.