SEATTLE -- Every time Ernie Butler needs gas, he has to make a scene. People give him that, 'what's wrong with you?' look, and some just plain ignore him.

"It tells me they don't care," said Butler after puling into an Arlington service station and getting no service.

They ignored his honks and the giant 14-inch wheelchair wheel he waved. He holds it up high outside the driver's side window, twirling it, hoping someone will notice; someone will offer to pump his gas.

Butler is no stranger to the rights of the disabled. He fights for them as part of his job as executive director of the Northwest Paralyzed Veterans of America.

The disabled Air Force Vet is paralyzed from the waist down, the result of a sky diving injury.

"I would think when you take a wheel out like this, waving it might attract some attention," said a frustrated Butler.

But at a Marysville gas station, right off of Interstate 5, no one paid attention, and the station's front door was wide open.

Butler said the lack of response is typical. "It was a little embarrassing," he said.

By federal law, service stations nationwide must pump gas for their disabled customers.

"If there is more than one staff person in the store at the time, then there is no reason for not serving," said Lonnie Davis with the Alliance of People with Disabilities.

Davis, a civil rights attorney, insisted the only time attendants can refuse disabled drivers is if there's only one staffer on duty.

Asked why she didn't come out to help, the employee at the Marysville gas station said she didn't know she had to.
 
"My boss never told me anything about working with wheelchairs," Kaia Hanson said. "I've been here a year and I've never had to deal with it."

She swore she noticed nothing, even though Butler waited nearly 15 minutes, honking, hollering and waving his wheel.

"I was dumping ice bags and I didn't hear him, honestly," Hanson said.

Informed of the employee's response, Butler blamed the boss, not the woman working at the gas station.

"Service station -- what a good concept, service?" Butler said.

Not only did Hanson never notice Ernie, all the other customers pretended not to notice him.

And don't think pushing the emergency call button on the pump doesn't occur to disabled drivers. Most of them can't reach the button from the driver's seat.

We took our cameras undercover to gas stations from Arlington to Burien, even in downtown Seattle. Out of seven stations, five never noticed Butler.

Each time, he had no choice but to pop open his driver's side door, lean out and assemble his wheelchair, piece by piece. It takes much longer for him to get out of his car than it does for an attendant to fill his tank.

At one stop, the station attendant never heard Butler's honks or hollers, but a construction worker eating his lunch outside the station did.

"Excuse me sir," said Butler, "I'm disabled. Can you ask the attendant to come out and help me?"

At an Arlington gas station with three employees inside Butler's attempts to attract attention yielded more waiting.

When we went inside to ask why no one came outside to help, employee Grace Perry said, "It's really hard, you just kind of have to be patient and try and get our attention."

Butler said once he got Perry's attention, her service was stellar.

"We'll go out and we will help them," said Perry.

Not everyone ignored Butler.

At another station we tested, a customer pointed out Butler to Patrick Summers, who left his post even though legally he didn't have too since he was working alone. .

"It's common courtesy," said Summers.

There was only one time our cameras found a clerk who in just a matter of minutes heard Butler's horn and came running to help him.

At the Burien gas station Butler asked for help and the attendant, Felicia Hammond, was happy to assist.

Our Problem Solver investigation was Butler's idea.

He wanted to expose the problem to help others. He'll argue that he's not really disabled -- he refers to himself as a "short guy with round legs."

"I can get out of my car, sure it's involved," said Butler. "But there are others who can't."

Some 54 million Americans have a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. There are hefty civil penalties of up to $50,000 for businesses that do not comply.