Drive-through coffee shops, drive-through banking ATM, oil change stations, convenience stores - aah, what a convenience. So I thought until today.

Never did I notice that almost all drive-through places design their line ups in the way so that once you're in the line up you can't get out. This means, if you're waiting in the line to get your coffee and there is 2 cars ahead of you, but you haven't move in last 15 minutes - you can't leave. Regardless of what the emergency you might be having, you're stuck. Can't back out - there's cars behind you. Most of lanes are designed to fit one width of a car only - you can't pass.

I am also surprised that Ontario laws allow "convenience" drive-through places to exist. Isn't it against the law to idle your car for more than 3 minutes? Especially when it's winter out there and you want to warm up your vehicle by letting it idle for 10 minutes while you finish your breakfast. Not only that you're polluting our air but this is also one of major problems with car thefts over winter months.

Today while getting my morning coffee I was stuck for nearly 20 minutes with 3 cars ahead of me. Most drive-through banking machines are designed in a way that if you decide not to wait any longer you can pull out of the lane. Why is it that coffee shops can not do the same? Of course I ended up not taking the coffee and not paying for it.

Next time I think I'll walk inside and get my coffee. Park the car, turn off the engine and save the environment (or 20 minutes).

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