RobertFrapples

I regularly bike through the ATM lane at my bank. I have never had a problem. The ATM machine works just as well for a cyclist as for a driver.

Fast food ordering systems, however, do not always work for bicycles. At the fast food place I worked at, the speakers and microphones were activated by an induction loop under the pavement. Occasionally people would come through on bicycles, on foot, and in wheelchairs. We could see them on the monitor but could not hear them nor talk to them. Often times they would get irate and storm into the store or they would refuse to move and hold up traffic and we would have to go out and explain to them why it would not work. They usually did not believe us and got more irate until we threatened to call the police if they did not leave.

wheeldeal

Those of us who live in America have this thing called lawsuits. When you're at the drive up ATM, you're in private property. What if some drunk guy pulls up behind you and flattens you? You're left being a vegetable the rest of your life and I'm sure you'll want to be compensated, correct? You sue the driver, who doesn't have auto insurance, is on welfare and spends his foodstamp money on PBRs & cigarettes.

Let me take a wild guess who you're going to sue next. See the reason behind the corporate policy?

truman

I ride up to the drive-up atm often.

I would welcome commentary on that fact by drivers who feel I might be inconveniencing them - particularly ones who quote made-up rules to justify it - but that hasn't happened at all.

colleen c

Is it not Bugur King who has the slogan "Have it your way" ? LOL

making

I did not read all the post, but Ihave used an ATM recently on my bicycle and did not even think about it. Easier to do even.

colleen c

That make sense. Also the fact that cyclist is harder to see may raise the issue of getting hit from behind at the drive thru window.

xtrajack

In the state of Maine, a person on a bicycle may use the drive thru at any business. However, you do so at your own risk, negating the liability issues referenced above by a previous poster.
https://www.meetup.com/Portland-Bike-...e_Bicycle_Laws

Hyperspeeder

No, I prefer to use the walk-up ATM.

khutch

The drunk is probably driving the biggest SUV made so he could flatten me in my modest sized car as well, not to mention the "smart car" and other tiny car drivers. Plus if I parked my bike and walked into the bank the drunk would flatten me on his way in or out as I walked across the parking lot. Nice try, but this argument does not justify rules against bike use of drive-thru ATMs or teller stations. McDonalds restaurants in my (our, if your Elmhurst is the Chicago suburb) area do exclude walkup customers from their drive-thru lanes, I don't know about bicycles. If their system depends on inductive loops to detect the presence of a customer at the ordering station this make some sense. On the other hand if you can see the loop to position your wheels optimally and your bike will trigger it they won't know you are not a car when they answer to take your order and I suspect they won't refuse to take your money when you get up to the delivery window!

Ken

sggoodri

I bike up to the drive-through ATM all the time. My closest bank branch office doesn't have a walk-up ATM.

I've waited in line with traffic for the ATM but rarely is there more than one other customer there. Drivers who wait behind me usually stay way back.

I also bike up to pharmacy drive-thrus without any problems to speak of. I don't use fast food drive thrus on the bike because I'd rather walk in. One exception, when I didn't have my lock with me after a long road ride, resulted in the drive-through window operator saying "We don't serve bikes." I said, "The bike isn't hungry." She scowled at me but took my order. I think she realized that I stank, and so keeping me outside was a service to her other customers.

rando

The Drive-up ATM is probably fine, but the regular drive through banking stations may not be. after using these a couple of times, they told me through the speaker that I was not allowed to use these stations on my bike, that I had to come inside. probably a policy based on fear of lawsuits.

Brian T.

Yep. I asked at my bank and they said ,"No problem". So, what the hell?

Artkansas 

ATMs are one place a recumbent has a natural advantage over a diamond frame bike. You can sit down and do your banking just like a motorist.

tim24k

I use drive up ATM/teller windows all the time on my bicycle and to my knowledge no one has given a second thought about it, including myself.

gerv 

I have used an ATM on bike once or twice. However, I mostly get cash from the "cash back" feature at the grocery store. No need for an extra trip to the bank.

MilitantPotato

This needs to be posted on twitter.
There's a website for silly stuff like this.
https://therealfirstworldproblems.tumblr.com/

CB HI

It is sometimes good to consider how your post will look when someone clicks on "Reply With Quote".

colleen c

Oops and Duh, how embarassing of me. Good catch on that one. I keep forgetting how this bulletin board does not nest other quote but just my quote when a Reply with quote is used.

I guess I'll have to take a Fifth when the enforcement come knocking at my door.

bhchdh 

I bike to the drive up ATMs at three branches of my bank regularly. I've never considered that it might be a problem.

wheeldeal

Nice try, but my observation does justify why a corporate institution wouldn't want any unnecessary liability. I would rather lose ONE customer than to alter my corporate policy to accommodate a tiny portion of the public who chooses a bicycle as their main mode of transportation (who is stubborn enough to threaten to never do business with me again even though I provide other alternatives to your banking needs....aka walk through the front door).

Let me play along with your story. If a drunk driver is driving a Hummer H2 and will be rear ending me at 20mph, would I want to be:
A - in a modest sized car
B - a "Smart Car"
C - on a bicycle

Note: If you haven't noticed, answers A & B will provide you with protection in the form of a steel cage. You will be surrounded by a steel cage with crumple zones. This steel cage weighs roughly 2,000lbs.

Answer C provides me with protection in the form of a helmet & bicycle fingerless gloves. At least when I rode a motorized bike, I have knee sliders, elbow, shoulder, chest/kidney protection. But I still wouldn't want to be rear ended at 20mph.

In response to your comment about getting flattened by a drunk driver on your way to the bank, it has nothing to do with your choice of being a cyclist. A pedestrian can be flattened just as easily. I don't see your point.

prathmann

I've seen this justification a lot, but I still don't buy the validity of it. A number of years ago the LAB/LAW (League of American Bicyclists) had an article on this issue in their magazine. They checked with a number of companies that didn't allow cyclists to use the drive-up and were told repeatedly that it was because of liability concerns so their insurance carrier insisted on it. The reporter then got the names of the insurance carriers and asked them for their policy on it and discovered that not a single one had any objection to cyclists in the drive-ups.

I've run into the same situation with bike clubs that require use of helmets. Some are upfront that it was just a policy decision made by them, but others pass the buck to insurance company requirements. But the main carrier used by bike clubs has no requirement for helmet use on club rides nor does their suggested waiver form even mention helmets. While I can't know if there might be some other insurance company that does have a mandatory helmet policy, I have yet to hear of one.

I'd also note that there's a big difference between being able to sue and being successful. Unless the business was pretty clearly negligent in some way in the design of their drive-up area I would expect a jury to place the entire fault on the driver who ran into the cyclist and not assign any blame to the business. I've been on a couple juries and at least in those cases we deliberated very thoughtfully before reaching a decision.

As to the original question, I've used both ATMs and drive-up tellers (back before ATMs) while cycling. Only had a problem at one bank with the drive-up tellers - after that they were no longer our bank.

khutch

But that is my point. The bank already has many pedestrians in its parking lot who are exposed to the drunk driver as they enter and leave the bank building. The fact that I am on a bicycle in a different part of the same facility exposes me and the bank to zero extra risk so there is no reason to prohibit cyclists from using the drive up facility. The drunk could be anywhere since the drunk may not have intended to visit the bank at all and is just as likely to use the walk in as the drive up if he/she did. There is simply no way to predict what a drunk will do or where the drunk will be when the accident occurs. The drunk might drive right into the crowded lobby of the building! I think I am actually somewhat safer at the ATM since the lane is narrow and the drunk could easily ram the lane dividers or the teller machines instead of me! At one bank I frequently use the ATM lane is the first of several lanes that angle sharply off the access lane immediately after a sharp curve. It requires a sober driver to use all their skill and attention to reach that ATM, there is nearly zero chance of a drunk doing it.

I think that fast food restaurants (and banks) are much more justified in excluding pedestrians at their drive up windows. Pedestrians follow no rules and can appear suddenly from behind structures or parked cars when they try to use facilities that are not designed to accommodate them. Cyclists are completely different. We use the facility in the same way an automobile or motorcycle would use it. We follow the traffic rules as well as the drivers of those vehicles do and are just as predictable as they are. In the tight confines of this type of facility with sharp access turns and short straight portions we don't even proceed at a lower rate of speed than they do. So we do not inconvenience them by being there except by being ahead of them in line and that is an inconvenience they have no legitimate reason to complain about. There simply is no reason, insurance risk or otherwise, to exclude us. I say don't patronize a bank that does not want us.

Ken

wheeldeal

I agree with you 110% here. However, it's unfortunate that being sued (even if the plaintiff isn't successful) = lots of $$$ spent on legal fees (defense attorneys normally don't work for free). Prosecutors, on the other hand, have more options regarding charging legal fees.

My1stRoadBike

HA!
The Roseville Police Department needs help identifying a man who robbed two banks located inside Sunrise Avenue grocery stores over the past two months.
At around noon on May 14, the man robbed River City Bank inside the Bel Air supermarket (1039 Sunrise Avenue). He was spotted riding away on a mountain bike.
At about 1:45 p.m. on June 22, the same man robbed the U.S. Bank branch inside Safeway (898 Sunrise Avenue). In both robberies, the suspect gave the teller a note demanding money. No weapon was seen, and no one reported being injured during either robbery.

I use the Atm Drive thru if its open I dont Give a dam. Only takes me 15 mins to get there!

seenoweevil

Same here. A couple of times on Saturday morning with 4 lanes lined up around the building. No comments, maybe some curious looks.