No Vehicle, No Service And Certainly no Large… Orange… Drink!

     I must admit, I really really love my new(est) wheelchair. It goes relatively fast. On speed #4 it can keep up with a runner. Ok maybe not a runner but definitely like an elderly speed walker at the mall. I know, if you drive a vehicle this sounds lame but trust me, my wheels got umph. With a push of a button, the seat can elevate 7 inches, putting me at perfect eye level with my son. I have officially banned him from growing anymore. I must admit, I do not use this swanky feature as much as I thought I would.

     Because one, it is slower then molasses flowing up a hill. And two, when the chair is fully elevated, it might be able to go a tenth of a mile an hour at top speed. The first time I tried my new toy, I was heart broken and knew I must now befriend a nerdy mechanic who can tweak the slowness problem. And three, my son, who has inherited my mouth and not my fear of parental figures, always insists on humming the theme to Star Wars as I magically rise.

     Flipping through a magazine, an article caught my eye. It was about the wheelchair users vs. fast food drive-thrus, and the legalities of it. My first reaction was, that’s crazy. Second, why the hell have I never thought of that? Awesome. In 2009 a lady in Minneapolis sued White Castle for not letting her use the drive thru, she lost. This evidently is a real issue because Burger King even has it documented that wheelchairs are not allowed in their drive-thrus. Who knew?. On the flip side Jack-in-the-Box states that they will serve “Any vehicle with an electric motor.” I shall need to consult with my lawyer on that one because there’s a Jack-in-the-Box like a mile away from my house advertising funnel cake, if I leave now…

     I have done some questionable routes on my wheelchair and bike, none of which shall be posted on the comment section, thank you very much. But I always had a good reason. Like, he made me mad. It was raining. The sidewalk had an overgrown tree root. And my favorite, that car had a very good tailwind. Luckily even in my dumber years, I was smart enough to befriend the area’s policemen, and I was still cute and amusing.

     I don’t know if not being able to drive my wheelchair through a drive thru bothers me or not. In all honesty, ever since I transitioned into a wheelchair from a walker, I’ve had a phobia of rolling through a full parking lot. Sitting normally in my wheelchair, I don’t think I’m tall enough for cars to see me and I have this crazy fear of getting nailed. I’d never, not go out but I’m the annoying person that drives down the center of the parking row. I don’t actually think I’m a one crip parade, I’m just hoping that backer-outers will see me better.

     So I personally cannot see myself going through a drive thru, unless A) it was the only way to get a Frappe or B) it’s a question of accessibility. I recently was at a fast food restaurant that I literally couldn’t figure out how I could get into. They had those double doors with a tiny tiny hallway in between. I can’t explain it very well but one door swung in and one door swung out so there was no room for me. It was the strangest thing. I could have probably gone around to the other entrance but the whole thing felt clumsy so we left, my hubby kicking and screaming after the manager kinda shrugged his shoulders at us.

     In my opinion, drive-thrus should have the same policy for wheelchairs as they do for bicycles. And I am curious, what are the policies like at Sonic? Where all of the orders are placed from your vehicles? I think this requires some on the road research. One strawberry shake please.