As I read this story, involving sudden unintended acceleration, I immediately thought that it could not have been a Toyota. I'm going to assume it was not a Toyota, as there was no mention of the make of car in the story. Instead, Tim Horton's is wondering if then need to revise the design of their Drive-Thrus.But the simple and sad fact is, that the driver made a mistake. I don't know if they teach this in driver ed classes any more, but surely there must be a rule you do not open a door and lean your head out of a car that is running and in gear with no parking brake on. The fact that the car moved unexpectedly while the driver was reaching the ground to pick up something would not normally be blamed on the car. Nor should it be blamed on the design of the drive-thru, no matter how much I dislike Tim Horton's drive-thrus.
Picture: This is a scale model Tim Horton's, in case you were wondering. And no, we never see that many police cars in the parking lot unless there is a death in the drive-thru lane.
Like you, I have little patience with drive-throughs.
ReplyDeleteAside from all those unnecessary tailpipe emissions while idling, and negative traffic effects from poorly located drive-throughs which tail out into the traffic flow, North Americans now suffer from an epidemic of obesity.
There's something ironic about being able to obtain a double-double and a 300 calorie doughnut without getting off one's butt.
Be that as it may, accidents from people reaching out of their cars to retrieve something they've dropped are not that uncommon - but most of them are not fatal and do not make the headlines.
You write, 'I don't know if they teach this in driver ed classes any more, but surely there must be a rule you do not open a door and lean your head out of a car that is running and in gear with no parking brake on.'
I suspect that a lot of people have a perception that they have more control over their vehicle than they actually do.