Invariably, I'll pass a McDonald's with an empty parking lot and the drive-through line ten deep. Every car is idling, waiting to move up another 12 feet so they can eventually pay, move up again so they can eventually get their meals.
For each car ahead of them, I figure that it's at least a one minute wait. Seemingly insignificant, one minute grows to ten in, well, a matter of minutes. That's time that your car (or truck, or monster SUV) is using gas.
And right now, gas ain't cheap. At over four dollars in some areas (and at least over $3.50 everywhere else), the cost for that $15 bag full of Happy Meals just got higher. We even think we're paying for convenience, but in reality, we're just paying for the privilege of not getting out of our cars.
Even if it's a small amount of gas expended while waiting, it's an expenditure that can be avoided by just parking at the restaurant and using the counter service. And you can make sure that your order is correct.
Some may argue that vehicles expend more gas stopping and then starting back up. Not anymore! Apparently the rule is ten or more seconds (except in street traffic) you should kill the engine.
And to paraphrase Joe Pesci, they always get you at the drive through.
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