commute – Topical Fruit

This Fast Food Place Has the Quickest Drive-Thru

Congrats, fast-food chains – you tried to make drive-thrus smarter with A.I., and somehow made them dumber.

According to the latest annual Drive-Thru Study from Intouch Insight, the average fast-food drive-thru experience lasts a little longer than it did a year ago. We’re now clocking in at 5 minutes 35 seconds per visit, or nine seconds slower than last year. That may not sound like much, but when your french-fry-fueled serotonin levels are crashing, it’s a lifetime.

To be fair, they added more chains to their study this time around. If you only look at the ones they tested last year, the average drive-thru time was actually flat – or technically 3 seconds faster than it was in 2024.

Taco Bell has the fastest drive-thru

Taco Bell took the crown for fastest service, at just 4 minutes 16 seconds. Probably helps that every single item is some variation of a tortilla and cheese. KFC, Tim Hortons, and Arby’s weren’t far behind, keeping things moving and the curly fries flowing.

Chick-fil-A had the longest wait times at over 7 minutes. But before you cancel your waffle fry plans, there’s a good reason for that wait. They also had much busier lines, and still managed to rank first in friendliness and customer satisfaction. So yes, it takes longer. But Chick-fil-A customers feel it’s a worthwhile wait.

Burger King and Wendy’s are the most accurate

As for order accuracy, Burger King and Wendy’s tied for first among non-coffee chains, both hitting 88% accuracy. (Am I the only one who thinks that’s pathetic? The best of the best still get 1 in 9 orders wrong?)

The most common flubs overall? “Ice” issues, like ignoring requests for “no ice” or adding too much of it. Next on the list was forgetting an item or giving customers the wrong food.

A.I. screwed up more orders

When drive-thru A.I.’s worked as intended, they did make things go a little quicker. The problem is they’re still not as good at asking “would you like fries with that” as the average 16-year-old employee who does it while scrolling TikTok.

Drive-thrus using A.I. were less accurate, getting orders right just 83% of the time. That’s lower than the overall industry average of 87%.

One in every three customers also had to repeat themselves to A.I., and a human had to take over 21% of the time.

Louisiana Law: You Can Now Get Ticketed for Driving 64 in a 65

In Louisiana, it is now legally possible to get pulled over for driving like your grandma… even if you’re going almost the speed limit. Starting this week, the state has declared war on left-lane lurkers who treat the passing lane like a slow parade route.

So if you’re the kind of person who sets your cruise control to 64 in a 65 and settles in with a podcast, congrats… you might now be eligible for a $150 fine and a confused conversation with a state trooper.

The new law targets drivers going under the speed limit in the left lane of multi-lane highways. Previously, you had to be driving at least 10 miles per hour under the posted limit to get cited. Now, going just one mph under is enough to get you busted. And yes, this includes Priuses and big rigs.

Fines escalate quickly: $150 for the first offense, $250 for the second, and $350 for the third… at which point you could also face jail time.

On most divided highways in the state, 65 mph is the standard speed limit, and this law applies to the left lane only. It’s meant to reinforce the idea that the left lane is for passing, not poking along and blocking faster drivers. But to be clear, this doesn’t mean you can speed… it just means you can’t drive slower than the limit in that lane.

The old rule allowed more wiggle room, only penalizing people going 10 mph below the limit. The updated version gives law enforcement broader authority to ticket drivers who are disrupting the flow of traffic, even slightly.

Will it be heavily enforced? That remains to be seen. But if you’re the type who likes to coast in the left lane with no one in front of you and a mile-long line behind you, it might be time to slide on over.

Are the Drivers in Your City Really Dangerous or Just a Little Dangerous?

Let’s say you’re on the road, minding your own business, and someone cuts you off doing 80 in a school zone with a turn signal that last blinked in 2013. Ever wonder if that kind of chaos is normal where you live?

Thanks to Allstate’s latest America’s Best Drivers Report, now we know exactly which U.S. cities are crushing it behind the wheel… and which ones should probably be forced to take the bus.

The 10 Safest Driving Cities in America

These cities are full of people who apparently read the manual, use turn signals, and maybe even wave politely when you let them merge (unverified):

Brownsville, TX
Boise, ID
Fort Collins, CO
Cary, NC
Laredo, TX
Olathe, KS
Scottsdale, AZ
Port St. Lucie, FL
Madison, WI
Eugene, OR

Congrats to Brownsville for taking the top spot with an average of 14.2 years between accidents. At that rate, your car might age out of the warranty before you hit anything. (And yeah, that’s collisions PER DRIVER, not overall. Although, who knows how many people live in Brownsville.)

And Now… the 10 Riskiest Driving Cities in the U.S.

If you live in one of these, maybe just get the full insurance coverage. And possibly a helmet.

Boston, MA
Washington, DC
Baltimore, MD
Worcester, MA
Springfield, MA
Glendale, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Oakland, CA
Providence, RI
Philadelphia, PA

Boston remains undefeated in vehicular chaos. On average, a Boston driver crashes every 3.07 years… which explains a lot if you’ve ever tried crossing Boylston Street with your life flashing before your eyes.

What the Data Actually Shows

East Coast, Least Safe: Seven of the 10 riskiest cities are on the East Coast. We assume it’s the traffic. Or the rage. Or both.
West Coast, Still Sketchy: California cities like L.A., Glendale, and Oakland aren’t exactly coasting either.
Texas = Road Safety Royalty: Four Texas cities made the top 20 safest list, and Brownsville took the crown. Everything’s bigger in Texas… including the respect for stop signs?
Pacific Northwest Redemption Arc: Cities like Bellevue, WA, and Portland, OR improved dramatically. Bellevue jumped 133 spots to become the most improved city since 2015.
Midwest Mayhem: St. Louis drivers fell harder than a dad on a hoverboard, dropping 90 spots to land at #175. Des Moines, Kansas City, and Omaha also took major hits in the rankings.

The Gap Is Growing

Overall, crash rates are slightly down nationwide, but the safe cities are getting safer, while the dangerous ones… yeah, not great. In fact, several of the worst-off cities saw crashes spike over 25% since 2015.

Want to see where your city landed?

The full 200-city list is available in the full report. But if you’re in Boston, you probably already knew.