LesterOfPuppets

Yeah, I've been fed that insurance BS before. Somebody somewhere up the food chain would rather not have cyclists in their drive thrus. Really sucked for me back in the 90s because after work there was NOWHERE to get food at that hour. Grocery stores were all closed and Taco Bell drive thru was the only option, but they hated bikes so screw Taco Bell.

Like another poster, I'm more afraid of riding past a drive thru exit than being in a drive thru. People exiting a drive thru don't look where they're going and usually just cruise right across the sidewalk and into the bike lane before possibly slowing and looking for traffic coming from the left.

There is at least one fast food restaurant that likes bikes in their drive thrus, however:

https://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting...ille_offi.html

wahoonc

We have Cook-Out Burger in my part of the country, they actually have a walk up window as does Sonic, Checkers and a few others. Not all of them are in what I would consider bicycle friendly areas, but some are reachable from back streets.

What I find interesting is that Sonic is a drive in...but they also have facilities for the non driving public. Some of these other chains could certainly learn from this, but I doubt they will.

Aaron

fenton

Yes, it sucks, but can't you just park in front of the ATM instead of going through the drive-thru?

Sonic is great for that, but I've never seen any other chain that did that, a few local coffee shops that always end up going under though (Las Vegas is not conducive to local businesses) and they weren't open late.

wahoonc

Most of the banks around here have the ATM's in the drive through lanes now...

Aaron

tony_merlino

Are you buying into the "corporations hate cyclists" argument? Why? Why would the board of McDonalds or Burger King "hate" cyclists, or adopt policies simply to discriminate against them? Except when their lawyers and bean counters are evaluating the trade-offs between potential liability suits versus expected lost revenue, bicyclists are not even on their radar.

I don't know about where you live, but around here there aren't enough cyclists on the street, period, to make a dent in Wendy's or McDonalds' business, even if all of them went to eat at the same restaurant for every meal, seven days a week. Our primary cycling population (besides little kids in the parks with their parents) consists of a couple of dozen teen/tween boys on BMX bikes, a handful of old codgers like me, the occasional roadie passing through on a training ride, and the immigrants who work at those fast food places. And we're a pretty dense suburb, (about 30,000 people packed into about 3 square miles).

BTW - a few potential reasons for the difference in policies for motorcycles versus bicycles are:

1) Motorcyclists are, by definition, adults - they have to be to get licenses. That makes a big difference in torts cases, since minors are not presumed to be capable of making an informed choice regarding the risks, so all of the responsibility belongs to the establishment.

2) Motorcyclists are required to carry insurance, at least in this state. This also makes a big difference in the establishment's exposure.

My point is, for big corporations like the fast food guys, it's all about the money. When people start making it personal, the conversation gets silly.

cooker

Parking lots are dangerous too.

Roody

Yes they are. You're probably many times more likely to get in an accident in a supermarket parking lot than yu are on the busiest street in your town. However, it's also very likely that the accident you have in a parking lot will not result in any personal injury or even damage to your bike.

Although if you're lucky (like I was) an expensive piece of plastic will fall off the vehicle that backs into you.

harry2110

In fact I am carfree not by choice but by law as I cant pass a vision test for a license. Now otherwise I would have been in a car or motorcycle. So to me its a form of discrimation as I dont have any other way to get service when the lobby is closed. Now banks are alright and allow service atleast to atms which i prefer to deal with outside anyways but fast food is a whole nother story. Taco bell was the worst they in fact asked me to leave or they would call the cops as I had to wait in their drive thru and finally got noticed after a car pulled up behind me. I didnt see the sign till he pointed to it as its on the drive thru window not sign like it should be and in unreadable font for me unless i get within inches.

I was going there as it was literally the only restuarnt open after a late shift at work one night, so I had no other choice unless i rode 6 miles out of my way and that was steak and shake which i should have done( always open in my area).

wahoonc

My point exactly... What I find interesting is that the McD's in my area happens to have a sign on the drive thru that says to ask for the Braille menu...WTF?

I have no problem with braille menus...but at the drive through? I am of the opinion that if a business is open they need to either serve everyone or no one, not just who they choose to serve when they choose.

Aaron

SparkyGA

I drive my bicycle through the drive throughs all the time while on my bicycle with the local fast food places and to use the drive through ATM at my bank. Every time I do it, I get evil looks from the workers, told never to do it again and I say okay, and then show up the next day again. Mind you I come from a town where you get strange looks driving 'only a F150' to buy a carton of milk (clearly a F350 diesel would be better suiting to the task), let alone riding your bicycle around the town any time that's below 20C and sunny. If people are getting really angry about me and my bike, I like to state that bicycles follow the same rules as motor vehicles, hense why we can drive on the highway everywhere.

Surprising nobody likes to give hitchhikers a ride around home but the number of offers I get from locals offering a ride to me while I'm on a bicycle is funny...... They feel sorry for me LOL (I have a car still too)

Stealthammer

RE: The McD braille menus printed on paper?..... They are printed for the walk-in customers primarily but they are usually available to drive-thru passengers as well?

On the other hand, most drive up ATMs have braille "written" on the actual machines, that passengers generally can't reach, and that you are supposedly not permitted to walk up to.....



That is my experience as well. I worked the nightshift at a large fabrication plant in a gang-infested area for a while and I would always just walk out front to the 24hr Taco Bell drive-thru and stick out my thumb. Its amazing how accomodating many of the other night shift workers were, as well as many of the gang-bangers...... Eventually the Taco Bell staff got so amused that they would just serve me at the window if there wasn't any other customers.

prathmann

Why not? Surely a blind person being driven to the bank could sit in the back seat right behind the driver and have no trouble operating the ATM once the driver pulls the car up the right amount.

Seattle Forrest

I went to the bank to make a deposit yesterday. It came about 30 miles into a ride. (Yesterday was my birthday, so I took the day off.) I brought the bike into the branch with me, walked it up to the counter, leaned the rear wheel to hold the bike in place, and made my deposit. The guy asked me if traffic was horrible because of all the holiday shoppers, and I told him traffic doesn't affect me.

Fidelity is great for that. In the ten years I've banked with them, I've waited in line rarely enough to be able to count the times on my fingers. If a customer wants to bring their bike in with them, well, the customer is always right.

ka0use

dude! lemme tell ya about drive-through land. i once lived in san diego (california; not cuba or argentina) and, hold onto your teeth, there were:

drive-through mortuaries, i kid you not! you'd drive up to the viewing window, take a look, then drive home.
drive-in churches. you drive-in to a rented drive-in theater, listen to the sermon on the movie speaker thing that hangs on your window and put some money in the basket-with-a-long-handle that the guys walk around with and poke at you.
hold on! we ain't done yet!- drive through palm readers. i guess they could 'see' (by what you were driving) that you that you were going to give them a lot of money (bmw, cadillac, etc). probably make you pay up front to prevent drive-aways, which they should be able to 'see' coming. i saw a film in which two po-leece were being chased by bad guys. they ran into a palm reader's place and turned furniture on its' sides for barricades. the reader chick comes running in from the back and hollers 'what's going on?'. one cop hollers back 'don't you know?'. then the shoot 'em up begins and she commences to screeching.

AND it is almost against the law to walk anywhere! ear up- i knew families whose members would go to the very same destination, and each drive separate cars- as many as 6.

hold on, it gets weirder (how could that possibly BE?)- they drive to the corner store a half block away for a pack of ****.

the only truly nice thing i saw there was the demanded respect (probably by law) for folks in crosswalks. don't let a car stick it's nose past the solid line at a 'walk. mm mm, don't even THINK it. the peds'll holler for a cop and start writing license plate numbers. that be THEIR territory, and i like it.

LesterOfPuppets

"a pack of ****" ???? British word for cigarettes, perhaps?

Surely any proper Brit would say "Packet of ****", however.

Mobile 155

Sonic here has a drive up window and drive up car hop stalls. Just like an old time 50s drive in. You can ride up and order but not at the window. You have to sit outside at a table and order off of a sign board and a girl on skates will bring your order. You don't get to go inside. Micky Ds, Taco Bell, Windy's and In and out will not serve a bike at the drive up window but they have inside seating and walkup counters. Most of them have bike racks as well. I do all my banking on the computer or cell phone and all my checks are direct deposit.

ka0use

indeed they would. i know just enough english to be dangerous. had no idea the word would be bumped. sorry.

LesterOfPuppets

That's the setup at our Sonic. We have a huge school for the deaf here in town and I found out that the menu boards are terrible when a car full of deaf mutes parks at one. It took a little doing but they eventually got things worked out.

Too bad the dining rooms close at 10pm while the drive through stays open 'til 1am or all night depending on store.

wahoonc

And you are screwed if you want to eat after the dining room closes...selective service at it's best.

Aaron

Mobile 155

To be perfectly honest I may not have even noticed. I tend not to use drive up windows even during the day. I guess I figured if the lights were on they were open. As you may guess I don't ride much at night. I am mostly home after dark.

wahoonc

Gets dark early these days...

I have done battle with more than one fast food emporium when they refused service at the drive through after hours with limited success. Gave up on it and voted with my dollars.

Aaron

folder fanatic

I use the ATM window or fold up and push my bicycle through bank lines like a stroller. As for fast food drive up windows, I don't order from them. I go inside with my bikes and sit down and enjoy my food (besides I like to refill my beverage cup-try doing that through the drive through window).

tony_merlino

I think the point a lot of posters here are missing is that, while motor vehicle (car or motorcycle) operators are necessarily adults, pedestrians and cyclists are potentially minors. This makes a big difference in terms of liability. Imagine any other case where you were encouraging children to stand and conduct business in the middle of a motor traffic lane. Sound like a reasonable thing to do?

LesterOfPuppets

Well, actually not all motor vehicle operators are technically adults. You can get your permit @ 15 years of age and license at 16. Most places you're not adult enough to buy porn or smokes or have sex with people 18 or older 'til you're 18. You're not adult enough to buy booze 'til you're 21.

But still an important point. Maybe some age restrictions instead of transport mode restrictions on the drive thrus? Show ID for your Taco Bell Grande? Should be after curfew when the dining room closes in many communities anyways so call the cops on youngsters that roll or stroll up.

wahoonc

You CAN'T go inside if the doors are locked. Maybe you aren't out late enough or maybe the restaurants around there shut down completely at night? The problem is that some restaurants close the dining room at say 9pm but the drive through stays open until 11pm or even later, if you want something to eat you have to own a car and use the drive through.

Aaron