8/6/13 Retail Store Safety - Crash Prevention: Case Study: Starbucks

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Exploring ways to prevent vehicle crashes into retail stores, restaurants, and other commercial buildings.

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Case Study: Starbucks

When Storefront Safety Council co-founder Rob Reiter did a scan of storefront crashes over

the last year (identified via online media accounts), he discovered that Starbucks

consistently had the second or third highest number of crashes in the US—trading places with

7-Eleven here and there for the number two and number three spot. (Who was number one?

Read to the end for that tidbit!) Here’s a Q&A with Rob on what he found (all Starbucks

images sourced from Rob).

Rob: Starbucks recently had four accidents in four weeks around the US. I believe there were

more incidents than these four, since we’re only capturing these through online media

searches. Also, companies with the largest number of storefronts would be expected to have

the largest number of incidents, just as a reflection of the greater number of locations and

the greater number of times per day that cars drive into their parking lots and pull into their

parking spaces.

Mark: Let’s just look at these four. What can you tell us about them?

Rob: In June, there were crashes in Sheridan, Wyoming, and Milpitas, California; and so far

in July there were crashes in Neenah, Wisconsin, and Havertown, Pennsylvania. Two of

these crashes resulted in injuries, and all of them were documented in press reports with

photos of the scene and damage.

Mark: What happened at each location?

Rob: One was the result of a drunk driver, one was the result of a medical episode, and two

were the result of pedal error by the driver. In three of these crashes, vehicles were pointed

right at the building while they were parking, with no barrier between the parking spaces

and the storefront. All of them impacted the building at or near a point where people would

be entering or leaving the store, or standing or sitting enjoying their coffee or tea.

Mark: I remember you contacted the Starbucks media department to get their comment or

see if they would connect you with someone for an interview. What was their response?

Rob: I tried twice. The first time was July 2012, after I discovered a media account of an

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Vehicles crash into restaurants, stores,

salons and other types of businesses all the

time, often injuring and sometimes killing

customers and employees. (I discovered this

the hard way when I got hit in 2008.)

Business: You and your landlord can takesteps to protect your employees andcustomers.

Shopper: Look before you exit. Keep youreye on moving vehicles, especially as theypull in to park.

Driver: Pay attention. Focus on properpedal use. Confusing brake & gas pedalsis a common cause of storefront crashes.

HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU

The Hidden Epidemic of Storefront Crashes

The Atlantic Cities

Hard numbers on storefront crashes are

hard to come by, but Reiter recently

published a paper with the Texas Traffic

Institute at Texas A&M University that hints

at the extent of the problem. Reiter and his

co-authors looked at data showing that ...

Storefront crashes: A bigger urban-design

issue than we thinkMinnPost.com

It turns out, however, that storefront

crashes are not oddities. Hard numbers are

difficult to come by, but a paper published

the other day by Robert Reiter with Dean C.

Alberson and Felicia J. Desorcie, both with

the Texas Traffic Institute at Texas A ...

Man charged with DWI after crashing into

storefront in Ashevillemyfox8.com

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A Kentucky man was

arrested after police say he crashed

through a storefront in Asheville. Police

believe Mark Rose had been drinking and

using drugs before he crashed through the

front of Harrison's Workwear on Brevard

Road.

Venice Beach Crash Video Shows Accident

That Killed 1, Injured 11Huffington Post

He carefully maneuvered between a

storefront and metal poles that had been

STOREFRONT CRASH NEWSFEED

8/6/13 Retail Store Safety - Crash Prevention: Case Study: Starbucks

www.storefrontcrashes.com/2013/07/case-study-starbucks.html 2/4

injury crash in the Seattle area.

The Seattle Times reported that

Starbucks spokesman Jim Olson

said the three injured were

customers, adding: “We have

over 10,000 stores in the US, and

it does occur, but it’s very rare.”

Mark: Did Starbucks respond

when you reached out that time?

Rob: Yes, with an email that said

“timing and availability” prevented them from being able to provide me with an interview.

The email did include a statement they said I could attribute to a Starbucks spokesperson.

Mark: What did that statement say?

Rob: Here it is, verbatim: “The safety and security of our customers and partners

(employees) is our top priority — and we want every customer to have a positive experience

each time they visit one of our stores. In order to provide a safe environment, we have

security measures in place and we work closely with local authorities. Whether in our stores

or in other public places, we encourage our customers to be aware of their surroundings to

help keep themselves and people around them safe. With over 10,000 stores in the United

States, these incidents are very rare at our locations.”

Mark: Interesting. Do you agree that these incidents are “rare” from what you’ve seen?

Rob: At each location, yes. But taken as a whole, a company with that many locations around

the US is likely experiencing these accidents on an almost daily or at least weekly basis

somewhere in the country, based on crash patterns I’ve seen for retail businesses with

similarly high numbers of locations, like Dunkin Donuts and 7-Eleven. That doesn’t add up to

be “rare” in my book. Witness the four latest Starbucks crashes in four weeks I just listed.

Mark: And the second contact with Starbucks?

Rob: After the Milpitas crash, a Starbucks regional manager told KGO-TV that this was the

fourth car to crash into one of the stores in Milpitas and Fremont in the past three years.

When I contacted Starbucks following that media account, and again requested an interview,

I got a brief apologetically-phrased reply thanking me for “reaching out to the Starbucks

press line” and saying, as before, time and availability prevented an interview.

Mark: It’s unfortunate, but not surprising. I’ve

noticed even companies that typically do use bollards

or other barriers to protect people have been

extremely reluctant to talk about this subject. One of

our Storefront Safety Council colleagues suggested to

me that this reticence is probably due to liability

concerns, as well as fear that a plaintiff’s lawyer

might twist their words or actions in court.

Rob: Having been an expert witness in a number of

trials, I know the stakes are high for companies. But the stakes are even higher for people

— be they customers, employees, or bystanders — who get injured, or worse, in these

crashes. Plus, the property damage and lost business experienced by a company means that

company was a victim, too.

Mark: So you have some sympathy for Starbucks and other storefront businesses?

Rob: Sure. I don’t think they’re deliberately trying to get hit. They’re in business to offer a

great product, and I suspect that — to the extent they even have any internal awareness of

this problem — they probably just wish it would go away.

Mark: Wishing isn’t working. What do you think it will take to educate companies about the

need to be proactive?

Rob: More work. More documentation. ASTM is putting the finishing touches on a testing

standard for all types of barriers that have application for retail locations, pedestrian areas,

and the like. That will lead to standards that architects and engineers and lawyers can look

to when they are developing or upgrading properties, and could lead to local codes and

ordinances that will require protection for pedestrians, patrons, and store workers.

erected to prevent anyone from driving

onto the boardwalk. Then he stepped on

the accelerator and plunged into the

crowd. "I heard a big `boom, boom,' like the

sound of someone ...

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Mark: So, you said Starbucks and

7-Eleven had the second-to-third

highest number of crashes in the

past year from your review of

media accounts. Who was number

one?

Rob: That distinction belongs to

the US Postal Service.

Mark: Wow, interesting. Any

contacts with them yet?

Rob: Stay tuned.

Editorial Note: Be part of the

discussion via the Storefront

Safety Council LinkedIn group.

Image: peninsuladailynews.com

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