How do you feel about DRIVE THRUS?

[Mkrop]

This is inspired by a post about a drive thru convience store, in my town we have a drive thru convience store where you can buy milk, bread and other things and just pull up in your car. I said they were great thing to use if you have kids, either sleeping, sick, or if someone was elderly you dont have to get out of the car.

Another poster says this is hurting ourselves, teaching our children to be lazy, and hurting our environment.

So do you use them, what for? The bank, fast food etc.

And what is your opinion? Would you want a drive thru convience store in your town?

 

[Bob Slydell]

I wouldn't mind having one, for some of the reasons you listed. Mostly if you had sick kids or just needed something quickly and didn't want to have to get the kids in and out of the car for a quick stop. I don't know of any around us, however. We have drive thru pharmacies and coffee shops (along with the usual fast food), but that's all I can think of.

 

[mirthmaiden]

My minister told me about a drive-thru church somewhere in New York (I think). He also mentioned a drive-thru funeral home. They have the casket sitting in a window, you pull up, pay your respects, and drive away.

 

[Planogirl]

There's a drive thru wedding chapel in Vegas. That seems a little much.

I love drive thrus for fast food and banks. I don't use them for anything else yet.

 

[freckles and boo]

Color me lazy.

 

[mickeyboat]

We have restaurants, a bank and a pharmacy. There might even be a dry cleaner somewhere. I don't really have a problem going in, but I am usually running errands with little time (during my lunch hour) and the time saved at drive throughs gives me time to actually eat my lunch.

Denae

 

[LisaNJ25]

I would love it for Milk since we go though a Gallon a day.

Dont they have drive up windows for weddings in Vegas?

 

[MoniqueU]

Well we just started to get drive thru banks back around here. For a few years any of the banks I used didn't have a drive thru. I remember trying to get my kids in their strollers through the 2 doors of security and having alot of trouble doing it. It was a bummer.
Our local mini mart used to sell some other stuff besides coffee at the drive thru but stopped that.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I was actually thinking of opening one. Seriously!

In this day and age, I can't leave my kids in the car to run in and grab a gallon of milk, without feeling like I am the worst mother in the world. My kids are older now, so yes, I DO leave them in the car. Because that is where they choose to stay. If they want to come in, they can just open their door, and come in with me.

It is not laziness. It is a stress reducer.

Who knows, maybe 2 million years from now, the human race will be these flat blobs with eyes and little arms. We will have TV and a button. The button with bring us anything we desire. But right now, we still move for the most part. Having a drive thru convience store is not teaching the kids anything more than how busy and hectic a mom or dad's life can be.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

The only drive through I do NOT like is the Drive Thru liquor store (there's one around here).....Personally I think it promotes drinking and driving. But other than that, I think they are great and helps society in general. Yes, if you are using it because your lazy, I guess that would be one thing (and who doesn't have one of those lazy days ) but I always hated having to unbuckle two car seats (my children are 12 months apart ) bring them into the store, buckle them back in, just to pick up a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread. Sometimes the hassle just wasn't worth it and I would have WELCOMED a drive through convenience store.

 

[Christine]

I think they are a good idea.

Around here we only have drive thru banks, ATM machines, Starbucks, and fast food. I'd love it for things like milk. Also, it would be nice if the post office did it for stamps and simple transactions. I *hate* getting out of my car for little things.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

The poster that the OP is referring to is me.

I think that the majority of people use drive-thrus not because they have mobility issues or because their kids are sick. I think they use them because they are convienent, the driver is often being lazy, and it's a habit.

Where I come from, there's currently a debate on getting rid of drive-thrus mostly because of the recent studies that show that idling in line at a drive-thru is quite often worse for the environment than turning off your car and going inside the store.

I also think we are hurting ourselves by relying so much on our cars. Nobody walks anywhere any more! (And this is coming from someone who KNOWS winter.) Obesity rates are continuing to climb and we're teaching our children bad habits. I really didn't think this was news. This is common knowledge where I come from.

I think you can choose to use a drive-thru if you want but if my life was so busy that I couldn't park my car and walk two feet and spend five minutes interacting with someone as I bought a carton of milk then something would have to change.

And I'm sorry but things like booze sold at drive-thru liquor stores, greasy hamburgers sold at the drive-thrus of fast-food restaurants, and coffee sold at the windows of coffee shops are not necessities of life. So if your children are sick, stay home and cook them a meal.

 

[LUVMYTINK]

Like I've said before I would love a drive thru convience store in my town. I'm still waiting for the new location of my bank to open cause it will have a drive thru ATM. It's so much trouble to wrangle 3 kids just to get into a grocery store, especially when my 2 youngest were younger, when you just need a gallon of milk & it's pouring down rain.

 

[Bob Slydell]

I also think we are hurting ourselves by relying so much on our cars. Nobody walks anywhere any more!

Nobody walks anywhere anymore because the majority of population now lives out in suburbs, which are rarely laid out in such a manner to allow for convenient walking. Odds are, you'll have more than a couple posters hop on from NYC or Chicago or another major metropolitan area and say they walk constantly -- it's a part of life if you live somewhere condusive to it.

 

[RVGal]

Here is a recent experience of mine.

I pulled into a gas station with my sleeping 2 year old strapped safely in his carseat. I pumped my gas, all the while keeping my eye on my son. I reached back for my receipt and the display read, "Receipt available inside..."

I have to have a stupid receipt. I was on an errand for the business and needed to be reimbursed. So, I had to pull forward to a parking spot, unbuckle and haul my semi-sleeping son into the store for a tiny piece of paper. Buckling him back into his seat disturbed him even more and he never got back to sleep, so I had a very cranky boy for most of the rest of the day.

Now, that isn't a drive thru, but it is a getting him out of the car issue. Is it teaching him to be lazy to use a pay-at-the-pump gas station? Seriously? It is keeping him in the car where he is comfortable and safe.

I use the drive thru at the bank. Sometimes at fast food, but we don't eat that often. If we had a drive thru convenience store, I would LOVE it.

I don't think I am teaching my kids to be lazy by using a drive thru. I think some people look for hidden meanings and messages where there simply aren't any. I'm glad I don't feel the need to pick apart every tiny thing I do and look for the greater impact on society. I live a good life, try not to hurt anybody, and teach my children to be decent and respectful people. If the worst habit I pass on to my kids is using a drive thru, I'll be a happy woman.

 

[mirthmaiden]

So if your children are sick, stay home and cook them a meal.

Taking notes so I'll know how to do it right next time.

 

[LUVMYTINK]

So if your children are sick, stay home and cook them a meal.

Yeah that would be nice if I didn't have to go out & get the stuff for dinner because DH is deployed & out of the country. I guess I should have been better prepared then

 

[JR6ooo4]

Have you ever tried crossing a major intersection on foot. I garauntee in 10 attempts you will have one close call being hit by a car or worse.

It is the same story with driving to health clubs.

Mikeeee

 

[connorlevismom]

This is inspired by a post about a drive thru convience store, in my town we have a drive thru convience store where you can buy milk, bread and other things and just pull up in your car. I said they were great thing to use if you have kids, either sleeping, sick, or if someone was elderly you dont have to get out of the car.

Another poster says this is hurting ourselves, teaching our children to be lazy, and hurting our environment.

So do you use them, what for? The bank, fast food etc.

And what is your opinion? Would you want a drive thru convience store in your town?

Hell yes! That would be awesome! I hate dragging DS out of the car to run into the store for milk, especially in this cold weather. Color me jealous!

I love drive thu's and use them often.

Kristine

 

[Lintasare]

The poster that the OP is referring to is me.

I think that the majority of people use drive-thrus not because they have mobility issues or because their kids are sick. I think they use them because they are convienent, the driver is often being lazy, and it's a habit.

Where I come from, there's currently a debate on getting rid of drive-thrus mostly because of the recent studies that show that idling in line at a drive-thru is quite often worse for the environment than turning off your car and going inside the store.

I also think we are hurting ourselves by relying so much on our cars. Nobody walks anywhere any more! (And this is coming from someone who KNOWS winter.) Obesity rates are continuing to climb and we're teaching our children bad habits. I really didn't think this was news. This is common knowledge where I come from.

I think you can choose to use a drive-thru if you want but if my life was so busy that I couldn't park my car and walk two feet and spend five minutes interacting with someone as I bought a carton of milk then something would have to change.

And I'm sorry but things like booze sold at drive-thru liquor stores, greasy hamburgers sold at the drive-thrus of fast-food restaurants, and coffee sold at the windows of coffee shops are not necessities of life. So if your children are sick, stay home and cook them a meal.

Wow...on a soapbox much?

I am not sure if you understand the issue here. I don't think it's teaching children laziness to keep them safely in the car while mom goes through a drive thru to get milk. As one poster put it sometimes it is too much work to get the kids out of the car, take them in the store for a couple items.

So what would you do in this situation? It's snowing and icy outside and you need to pick up some milk and bread at the store. You have two options. To park and get your kids out of their carseats, carrying one because they are sick and holding the others hand while trying to walk across an icy parking lot into the store. Then you get to walk back out with a grocery bag all while carrying one child and making sure you and the other don't slip on the icy ground. Or instead the store has a drive up window where you can pick up your milk without having to do all that. What would you do? Because it is this kind of situation the OP and other posters are talking about among other situations.

And I disagree that drive thrus make people overweight. Using a drive thru to bank or get milk DOES NOT make anyone overweight. It's what they eat and how much exercise they get that makes them overweight. And I do not consider walking into the bank and standing in line exercise