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1. Emergency Room
When you’re going to the emergency room, the last thing you want is to sit next to someone who’s coughing and sneezing. Who knows what they’re coming in for and how contagious it is? Luckily, Stanford has a plan to ease those worries. Earlier this summer, researchers experimented with a drive-through emergency room to ease congestion during the busy flu season. Patients drove in and were first registered and given paperwork, because it wouldn’t be a trip to the hospital without paperwork. At the next stop, they went through the triage and had their vital signs checked. Finally, they were seen by a doctor and diagnosed, when they were either admitted to the hospital or told to drive away. The organizers hope the drive-thru ER would help cut down on wait times and quickly move along patients that didn’t need extensive treatment. Too bad this happened after the opportunity to write an ER / Taxi crossover.
2. Legislative visit
Over the last month, when politicians have been meeting with their constituents, it hasn’t gone well. So adding road rage to the equation wouldn’t seem to do much to help. Luckily, Pennsylvania state representative Kevin Murphy hasn’t reported any of those problems with his drive-through legislative window. He says the drive-up window at his Scranton office allows more people to see him and makes submitting paperwork more convenient for the elderly and disabled. When he can, he even staffs the window himself two days a week.
3. Wedding
In Las Vegas, where you can get married on a whim, doesn’t it just make sense that you should be able to do without getting out of your car? Enter the Little White Chapel’s Tunnel of Love. The Chapel, which hosted such celebrities as Michael Jordan and George Hamilton, opened up a drive-through window for weddings in 1991 after the owner saw a handicapped couple having difficulty getting into the chapel. The tunnel has been tricked out with a decorated ceiling. The Little White Chapel doesn’t have Vegas’ only drive-up window, though. Based on pictures, couples riding anything from antique cars to scooters have gone for convenience for their ceremonies.
4. Convenience Shopping
It seems incredibly misguided to offer a drive-through liquor store, what with our whole effort against drunk driving. But the ultra-convenience stores have been springing up across the country. Some offer more than just alcohol – recently stores offering groceries have been abandoning the parking lots and opening the aisles up to cars. People can drive up, place an order with a staffer and have it delivered to their car at checkout. In some chains, you can even just pop the trunk and have staffers put your bags right in there for you.
5. Trees
Like the forest, but don’t want to get out of your car? Then head down to California, where people have been carving tunnels through the giant Redwoods since cars became popular. A popular site is the Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree in Legget, which has been in business since 1930. But there are plenty of other drive-through trees, including the Drive-On Tree, which allows you to go up a ramp onto a fallen tree and pretend your car conquered nature.
Comments (20)
Comment
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I know you sort of mentioned them in passing, but really, who doesn’t need a drive-daquiri shop?! You gotta love Nawlins! See the link on my name.
posted by Hyacinth on 9-4-2009 at 11:04 am
Excuse me… Drive-THRU daquiri shop…
posted by Hyacinth on 9-4-2009 at 11:05 am
in college we had a drive-thru daquiri place too. they put a piece of tape over the opening of the lid so you wouldn’t drink it in the car. yup…the power of tape stopped thousands of college students from drinking and driving.
posted by Megan on 9-4-2009 at 11:15 am
Last year during flu season, I was involved in a very convenient and efficient program. Our state decided to open a free flu clinic in one of our DMV’s. Advertisements and flyers were all over the place in advance to let people know they could get a free flu shot and never have to leave their cars. On the day of the clinic, loads and loads of cars were driving through the lanes filling out forms, then moving to the next section to receive their shots. Even a few school buses full of people drove through! All in all, it was a complete success. In a four hour timespan, over 400 people received their vaccinations, and the average start-finish time I think was around 20 minutes a car. That’s faster than any other trip to the DMV I’ve ever taken.
posted by Steven on 9-4-2009 at 11:32 am
Did you know that in Italy, the only drive through service offered in the whole country is McDonalds and the Car Wash? Its true! I live here. No drive through ATM, no Drive Through Bank, no Drive Though Cigarette Windows… Even in my home state of Oregon we had Pastor Alice’s drive through Prayer, Hot Cocoa, and Jerky stop near to Jacksonville. Now I can’t even get cash without getting out of my car!
posted by Kate on 9-4-2009 at 11:45 am
I’m surprised more places aren’t making use of combining the convenience of the internet with drive-through windows. Why aren’t more places taking orders on line and then just having your order ready when you arrive and drive up to the window to pick it up or have it loaded into your car? It’s senseless to still be having to drive up to the window (or worse yet, the speaker device) and have to place your order, then wait on them to make it or pick it or package it and then wait to pay, then drive off with it? It would be much simpler to order on-line and pay online and just grab it and go. Plus it would reduce wait time in the drive-through line and improve the service time for the business,too. Everyone wins. Especially now that so many people have access to the internet not just at work or at home, but on-the-go with the help of smart-phones and laptops and such, you should be able to order ahead of time or even in-route.
The hospitals and DMVs and such could have you fill out the paper work on the internet and then it would be already be ready when you arrive. Another way to speed service.
posted by Melissa on 9-4-2009 at 12:23 pm
Convenience shopping isn’t new. In my area there are some drive through dairies. When I was a kid in the ’70s the local drive through dairy looked like it had been around for years. You can buy liquor at it, but you have to step out of the car to pay for it.
posted by Steve M. on 9-4-2009 at 1:16 pm
When I lived in Toledo Oh there was a drive-thru at a funeral home. I’m not joking. There was a large window on the back of the building and apparently they would put the casket in front of it, slightly tilted for better viewing, so people could pay their respects without ever having to get out of their car. I can’t remember what it was called but it was on a corner on Douglas Rd. (or whatever it’s called south of the university; I can’t remember).
posted by crocostimpy on 9-4-2009 at 1:35 pm
I dunno. I kinda think White Castle could be on the list just because it really does menatlly drag people there and force them to eat their food regardless of the fact that White Castle burgers are barely food at all.
reCAPTCHA: BRADIT noggin
What the hell is BRADIT?
posted by Bubba on 9-4-2009 at 2:41 pm
30 minutes outside of Pittsburgh there is a drive thru Strip Club.
posted by Greco on 9-4-2009 at 2:57 pm
I don’t remember where I was, but I saw an old McDonald’s or Pizza Hut converted to a lawyers office, and the drive-thru windows were still visible…
posted by Wayne on 9-4-2009 at 3:18 pm
Here in Dallas there is a drive-through beer store. Women in rather skimpy outfits and stilletos will bring the beer right to your car.
Not that I’ve ever utilized this convenience . . .
posted by janeeyre316 on 9-4-2009 at 5:45 pm
How arrogant of people to cut through redwoods to make a tunnel? This really disturbs me.
posted by gckittehmom on 9-4-2009 at 6:21 pm
Here in Canada, a bunch of municipalities are enacting anti-idling bylaws, and refusing to issue business licenses to drive-through operations.
posted by Kikadee on 9-4-2009 at 6:38 pm
there’s a drive-thru gelato place in my city.
posted by Teresa is amazing on 9-5-2009 at 12:16 am
What about the “boat-through” McDonald’s in Madeira Beach, Florida? Yes, there is a drive-through window for boats.
posted by Melissa on 9-5-2009 at 10:15 am
I read this article this morning before running errands. While out, I saw a drive through Cash ‘n Go/Money Express type place. I’m sure they’re common, but I was surprised that you don’t even have to get out of the car to arrange a payday loan now :-)
recaptcha: Kory whines
posted by Christi on 9-5-2009 at 6:45 pm
Yikes – that’s all America needs! More reasons NOT to walk (although the hospital idea was a great one, unless you consider very sick people are driving around). Wall-E anyone?!
posted by Logan on 9-6-2009 at 10:08 pm
Most “drive thru” conveniences need to
become extinct. I absolutely refuse to
use them. From what I have read about
the studies that have been done = IT IS
A MAJOR FACTOR in global warming. Besides – everyone needs to get SOME
exercise!
posted by Linda on 9-7-2009 at 10:54 am
Linda, while you’re right that many people could use more exercise, I don’t think walking the few feet from the car to the counter is going to have much of a health impact. If that few steps is the only exercise you’d be getting and you need it that badly, it’s not going to be nearly enough to help.
posted by Melissa on 9-7-2009 at 3:26 pm