Comments on: American Idle

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:16:28 +0000

I think the “toddler issue” is the major reason for the growth of drive thrus. I never understood the appeal of drive thrus until we had kids. It is a major hassle to get kids into and out of cars, and drive thrus let parents avoid that. Thirty years ago, this was less of an issue as kids were not strapped into the car so much.
I think the “toddler issue” is the only reason that Starbucks’ drive thru succeed at all - the drive thru at Starbucks will almost always take longer than walking into the store, unless you have a young kid in your car.
Also, at McD’s, sometimes we use the drive thru just so we can avoid the playland inside.

By: Evan

Evan — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:15:43 +0000

FWIW, I’ve found that the number of drive-through dairies here in Southern California have declined greatly. I always thought they were really neat when I was a kid, but I can’t think of any that are still around.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:42:03 +0000

I’m surprised no one has mentioned the few McDonald’s “walk-up” windows that exist. I spotted one on Manhattan’s Upper West Side over the summer. I imagine they exist in other highly-dense places without access to giant parking lots? I also think it shows that McDonalds will adopt to the local conditions, as long as its profitable. And the success of drive-thrus has less to do with the fast-food companies themselves, and more with the culture of those who use them.

I’m guilty of using the drive-thu book-drop at the public library when I’m on my bike. Although I guess that’s a drive-thru in reverse, I give them something, not the other way around.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:16:11 +0000

“BUT, there’s a chance a biker who gets hit while in the drive through will sue the restaurant (stupid I know, but some people will sue anybody) so the restaurants refuse service as a way of avoiding the issue altogether.”

What if a motorist gets hit while in the drive thru? If cyclists are a liability then certainly motorists with their several-tens-of-thousands-of-dollar cars are an even greater one.

By: Ian Turner

Ian Turner — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:46:03 +0000

The “bicycle drive thru as insurance liability” story is a red herring. Businesses take all sorts of liability risks all the time. And a collision of automobiles would leave the restaurant with just as much liability as a collision with a bicycle. The reality is that bicyclists are seen as poor and undesirable, and the insurance thing is just a faux justification.

As noted, this attitude can change overnight in places with a lot of prospective cylist customers.

By: Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:00:49 +0000

In Oregon, and presumably any other jurisdiction subject to the various Vienna Conventions on Traffic, all ways are presumed open to cyclists unless conspicuously posted at the start of the way that it’s closed. I have occasionally pwned fast food places by mentioning this to sympathetic local governments, who either out of legitimate concern for doing the right thing or a need for a quick revenue fix are all too happy to fine drive-thrus per diem until they either post that it’s closed to bicycles or start serving bicycles at the drive thru.

Then there’s Burgerville, which not only allows bicycles in the drive thru, but actively encourages you to bike thru instead of drive thru (all locations give you a free small drink if you go by bike, most also give a discount on your meal as well).

By: Michiel

Michiel — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:56:15 +0000

@Josh R: maybe it’s better you don’t taste the food, since the taste is bad or absent

Bikers at night should use proper lights on their bike.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:21:33 +0000

I recall an anecdote from an auto mechanic who was attempting to repair a power window on the driver’s side . Informing the customer of a two-week wait for parts, he was confronted with panic. “But you don’t understand. Everything I eat comes through that window!”

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:20:40 +0000

I once changed banks over this. The drive through window opened an hour earlier than the lobby, which was the only convenient time for me to use the bank on my way to work. They said a bicycle at the drive through was an insurance problem.

By: Josh R

Josh R — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:00:32 +0000

MikeonBike, there’s likely little increased danger to biking into a drive through, an inattentive driver is an inattentive driver after all, no matter where they are. BUT, there’s a chance a biker who gets hit while in the drive through will sue the restaurant (stupid I know, but some people will sue anybody) so the restaurants refuse service as a way of avoiding the issue altogether.

Bikes and walkers make up a relatively minuscule number of drive through customers, so by the cold numbers it’s easier to say “Screw them” then deal with the risk.