Originally Posted by
sbattey
I work for a fast food place, and we don't take orders by walkup or bicycle either. While I understand the frustration, you need to understand the liability issues if we were to take your order VIA bike and get injured because a car did not see you when they raced forward to the next window. We get quite a few fender benders in my drive thru every year because of this problem.
I don't buy the explanation. A motorcyclist getting rear-ended would be just as vulnerable as a bicyclist, yet you indicate that you have no problem serving them. Nor does it strike me as any more likely than when I am waiting at a red light - something I do multiple times each day without ever being hit by a car in over 50 years of cycling. And the liability would be on the at-fault party which would normally be the person who does the rear-ending unless there's something specifically and unusually hazardous about the way your business designed the drive-through.
The sensor problem is easily solved by getting the right type of sensor (or install a $5 push-button for bicyclists and motorcyclists).
I realize that you have no say over the policy, but I don't see any justification for it. Insurance companies are frequently blamed for the policy, but when the League of American Bicyclists checked with the insurance carriers for the fast-food places and banks with such policies they didn't find a single one that had a problem with bicyclists using the drive-through.