Don't Text and Drive-Thru

Refraining from texting and driving is a no brainer.  Just don't do it.  You could do irreparable harm to yourself or others.

But how about not texting and driving thru?  What I'm talking about here is less a public safety issue (though I guess a pile-up in the McDonald's drive-thru line is possible) and more a don't be an oblivious, efficiency-stealing twerp issue.

As a Diet Coke addict, I drive-thru McDonald's once a day almost every single day to get a fountain Diet Coke.  This post is not about the wisdom of this habit or about any related issues of addiction, health, or excess.

Let me first say that if you visit a McDonalds in Chicago's Western Suburbs, you are right in the backyard of the corporate headquarters.  Of the three McDonald's I visit regularly, all are marked by friendliness and efficiency.  The drive-thru tends to be a well-oiled machine ... except for the twerps who text and drive-thru.

This person pulls up and places his/her order.  Then, he/she pulls away from the speaker, stops, and starts checking the phone.  When the line moves forward, he/she does not because they are engaged with the phone.  In my experience, only a honk snaps them out of the phone trance and toward the first window.

This post about texting and driving-thru is likely to reach tens of readers who might reevaluate their own texting habits.

For the rest, I'll use my horn.