"driving" news and stories

How many times does a journalist get to use "Blame it on Tony the Tiger" as their lede? A Florida man, distracted by the bowl of Frosted Flakes he was eating, recently drove his 1999 Toyota Tacoma into the car of a local police officer. Luckily, no one was injured. The accident did cause a reported $5,000 worth of damage to both vehicles, according to the St. Pete Times. "They were in a bowl, but they were dry," a spokesman for the local sheriff's department told the Times, adding "I think the fortunate thing is nobody was really hurt so we can talk about the Frosted Flakes.''

I'm sure that plenty of you are familiar with Taco Bell's Cruchwrap Supreme, a quesadilla-like item designed to be eaten on the go. Well, to give customers and car owners a little bit more to chew on, Taco Bell recently teamed up with Kelley Blue Book for a study in how much people care about their car interiors. The study found that almost 60 percent of car owners eat in their cars or allow others to do so. Only about 34 percent ranked a clean interior as the most important aspect of their car's long-term value, however. The folks at Kelley of course stress the importance of a squeaky clean interior for a good resale value and Taco Bell steps in to help with their self-contained quesadilla. A press release for the findings is available here.

I far prefer to stop at a Starbucks than a fast food restaurant when I am on a long drive because, most of the time, I will pack my own snacks are simply want to get a drink. I'd rather have the extra caffeine of a coffee versus a soda and prefer the far-better taste of freshly prepared coffee than the "coffee" that comes out of a dispenser at the gas station convenience store. Starbucks also generally tend to have well-maintained bathrooms, which I appreciate.  But unless I really need to stretch my legs, I will find myself pulling up to the drive-thru window at many highway-side Starbucks. Driving thru takes about the same amount of time as going inside the store, with the added benefit that you do not have to get up. This is especially useful when it is cold outside and you don't want to put on several layers to walk a few hundred feet to the door.

With drive-thru service now accounting for up to 70% of fast food sales, the mind boggles to hear that companies are trying to speed up their drive thru service. One method of speeding up service is to route calls to call centers - instead of simply receiving them inside the restaurant over a speaker or radio - to increase accuracy. Companies have found this to be relatively effective, particularly in areas where their employees have limited English skills. The call centers enter the menu items onto a central computer, which transmits the order directly into the restaurant's computers. Another strategy is to replace the traditional written menu board with a photo illustrated or digital one, hoping that tempting food imagery will help customers choose their food faster. There are even computer programs that average how much food needs to be cooking at any given moment.

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