
Social distancing is bringing drive-in theaters back to life - lukestateson
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/drive-in-theaters-adapt-to-coronavirus
======
jrochkind1
The drive-in theater near by me has not been allowed to be open. I don't think
that is necessarily wrong, it's still too many people in one place.

There was an article two weeks ago that mentioned more drive-in's that would
like to be open but were not being allowed to be than ones that were open. And
that was a couple weeks ago.

I do think that after we have a handle on the pandemic (including
observabiltiy from wide-scale quick-turn-around testing, although part of me
thinks our country may be incapable of ever having that, which would be
problematic, but anyway)-- anyway, when the curve has peaked, and we have
observability we don't have now, which are the preconditions for gradually re-
opening things -- at that point I do think it would make sense for drive-in's
to be among the first things re-opened, they are _relatively_ low-risk when it
comes to gatherings of that size.

But for now, when the interviewer asks "Do you think this surge in attendance
at drive-ins around the country…" \-- I don't think the article actually has
any evidence to support there IS a "surge in drive-ins around the country",
they are just assuming it because they like the story? That's not good
journalism. I think most drive-ins remain closed by public health order,
possibly appropriately. I think the several stories about "the surge in
attendance" are just based on the journalist's imagination extrapolating from
one drive-in they found that is open, and are irresponsible.

~~~
standardUser
I'm having a very difficult time imagining how a drive-in theater could
regularly result in transmission of the virus. It's not inconceivable, but the
goal of physical distancing is not to prevent every conceivable situation that
could result in transmission, but the activities that would normally be
responsible for the vast majority of transmission.

I suppose having the cars a little farther apart might be prudent.

~~~
hombre_fatal
It reminds me of that video of cops arresting a jogger in Spain where the
person recording the video and the Reddit comments all gleefully celebrate
such justice.

As if trail joggers are a hotbed of infection.

[https://en.as.com/en/2020/03/21/videos/1584804866_376286.htm...](https://en.as.com/en/2020/03/21/videos/1584804866_376286.html)

The video kinda disgusted me, like zero tolerance laws that exist so nobody
has to actually use their discretion about what's reasonable vs unreasonable.

It also creates this creepy culture of sit-at-your-window-and-tattle that just
can't be worth it.

~~~
monsieurbanana
Are we watching the same video? I have zero sympathy for the jogger. The
police isn't doing anything wrong, she's clearly resisting so they have no
choice but to use strength to put her in the car. I don't see any mistreatment
from the police.

And where's the supposed "abuse" from the onlookers? All I saw was the person
filming telling her to shut up and stop resisting the police. All very
reasonable things to say, regardless of whether the law is wrong or not.

Speaking about the law, "zero tolerance laws" have a very negative meaning
because of the stupid laws they have in the USA. If there's a moment where you
should apply a zero tolerance law, it's when there's a freaking pandemic and
people disobey the rules.

One jogger isn't bad, how about 10 or 100?

~~~
standardUser
The policy of not allowing outdoor exercise is to blame. The risk of
transmission from running is minuscule if people keep proper physical
distance. Doesn't matter if it's 10 or 100 or 1,000 people jogging. All that
matters is if effective precautions are being taken to prevent transmission of
the virus.

Instead of harassing people who are keeping proper physical distance, police
should focus on activities that are actually likely to lead to transmission of
the virus. People running in a group? Make them stop. People running with
ample distance between themselves and others? Wave and say hi.

~~~
DennisP
Proper physical distance is quite far for joggers:
[https://www.fox13news.com/news/simulation-research-shows-
cov...](https://www.fox13news.com/news/simulation-research-shows-covid-19-can-
spread-farther-by-those-exercising-outdoors)

~~~
standardUser
The traditional WHO recommendation for avoiding droplet transmission is 3.5
feet (1 meter). In Australia, it's currently 5ft (1.5 meters). In many places,
6ft or 6.5ft (2 meters). The rate of transmission already drops dramatically
if you maintain just a 1 meter distance from infected individuals. Two meters
is even better, but we have always known that droplet transmission can go far
beyond even 2 meters. One source I read claimed it's possible up to 20 meters.

But the difference between "possible" and "likely" is key. If we try to avoid
every activity where there is a remote possibility of transmission, we will
all have to sit in isolated cages. But avoiding "likely" transmission is easy.
Keep a good distance, wash your hands, etc. It does not sound like this
simulation has proven (or even suggested) that transmission at 65 feet is
likely while running, only that it is possible.

~~~
CydeWeys
The point is that the droplets persist in the air for a little bit, and the
faster you're moving, the greater the likelihood that you're moving through a
space that still has suspended droplets in the air. It's like how the faster
you drive, the longer your stopping distance. Your safety distance increases
the faster you're moving. Six feet is for when you (and everyone else) are
stationary.

~~~
DennisP
On top of that, a moving source causes a slipstream that makes the droplets
spread further.

~~~
CydeWeys
Yup, and when running you're breathing deeper and more forcefully, so you're
expelling more viral particles farther.

Plus, I'm not seeing as many runners wearing masks (no doubt because of the
high oxygen requirements of the running itself), so that too has an effect.

------
sircastor
I was just suggesting this idea to my wife the other day. She counter argued
(and I think she's right) that this is still a risky proposition. If everyone
arrives, stays in their car watching the movie and then leaves, great. But
people see someone they know, or they want to let their kids out to run
around, and those kids see other kids. And add others have mentioned:
restrooms.

~~~
radicalbyte
Camera + fines for people getting out.

The bigger problem for me will be that half of the car owners will keep their
engines running so they can have AC and the idea of sitting for two hours
breathing exhaust fumes..

~~~
cglace
Aren’t you just describing driving? What is the difference between thousands
of cars crammed together on an interstate vs some cars watching a movie in a
field?

~~~
radicalbyte
The ones on a field will be emitting less pollutants whilst there will be way
less on the motorway per m2.

It's a bigger problem where I live in Europe because of the number of diesels.
Petrol cars aren't that bad especially when only idling for the airco. Diesels
are disgusting idling.

~~~
droithomme
> Petrol cars aren't that bad especially when only idling for the airco.
> Diesels are disgusting idling.

Petrol cars do not do complete combustion and emit carbon monoxide which is
toxic. Diesels don't. Modern diesels, running on mandated low sulfur fuel, can
have lower levels of troublesome emissions than petrol cars. Trucks are a
different matter though as they generally are not subject to the same emission
standards at present.

~~~
radicalbyte
I drive what, at the time, was being sold as the cleanest diesel engine ever.
A super efficient VW which could do 33km for 1 liter of fuel.

All lies it turns out.

You can smell it easily whilst idling on a warm day with low wind.. and it
smells really bad.

~~~
droithomme
Right I own that car and you are right its claimed emissions were a lie.

I now have the fix and it complies with emissions regulations, and gets the
same mileage as before. It was stupid of management and engineers to try to
defeat emissions tests because clearly they were capable of delivering the car
they promised using the engineering skills they had. Being dumb cost them
billions of dollars and has nearly destroyed the company, a fine company.
Someone just didn't want to do things right at the time and maybe got off on
scamming. Current status is that this car has unbelievably low emissions and
gets astonishing mileage and also has high performance.

Only problem is service costs a lot and requires specialized technicians. I
hear Teslas and Apple products have a similar issue.

> I can smell it

Mine has no smell before or after the fix. I can smell petrol exhaust.

~~~
selimthegrim
I formerly leased one before the fix. I thought it was 5-10% mpg reduction?

------
abetusk
My friends have been doing a guerrilla drive-in by all driving up to the back
of a closed down business off of the highway, projecting a movie onto the
(white-painted) brick wall and using an FM transmitter for the audio.

The projector plugs into an inverter and projects through the windshield.
We're still trying to figure out how to all talk to each other during the
movie. So far, cell phones with earbuds and microphones seems to work alright
but anything on speaker phone gets feedback.

The projector is something like 65W and is powered from the car on idle. It'd
be nicer to run it off of batteries but that can get a bit expensive.

~~~
auston
You could use something like presence.so for a private group voice chat.

~~~
abetusk
The issue more is about feedback and getting a proper system in place that we
can all (multiple people in one car) chat with everyone else in other cars
while the movie plays over the transmitter. The simple solution of calling
into a group hangout and setting speakerphone is that we quickly get feedback
from the audio of the move from the other cars.

------
deeblering4
I love the drive in, but in a time of pandemic I don’t understand how the
common resources like restrooms and food could be considered safe. It seems
like a place at high risk for transmission between the hundreds of patrons
that use them each night.

~~~
Robotbeat
Concessions closed. Single movies (on the short side) only. Go to bathroom at
home.

~~~
CydeWeys
A lot of people (me included) won't make it through a round-trip drive plus an
entire movie. The bathrooms are non-negotiable.

Also, cinemas make almost all of their profit from concessions, so if you
remove those they're going to have to charge more for the tickets themselves
to make up for it. Will people be willing to spend this much?

~~~
pc86
Then don't go. This is trying to give some people some sense of normalcy. If
it doesn't work for you, that's fine, don't partake. But that doesn't mean
it's a bad idea because a small minority of people can't hold their bladder
for 2 hours.

~~~
CydeWeys
It's a lot more than a "small minority" of people that wouldn't want no access
to a bathroom for 3 hours (we need to include the drive time, remember).

But yes, you could do it safely if you required people to stay in their cars
the entire time and provided no services, not even bathrooms. I honestly don't
see this being that attractive a proposition to most people though. And I've
never been to a drive-in theater in my life, so I don't know about restoring
normalcy. Restoring normalcy would be going to a regular theater. A drive-in
theater would be a novelty that I'm only experiencing because of the pandemic.

------
yardie
This could only happen in places out in the sticks, such as Ocala. Where I'm
from, another south florida suburb, the drive ins were paved over and made
into shopping malls decades ago. Our son has only seen them in a period
movie/show, such as Stranger Things, so sometimes I would describe them in a
bit of detail.

No one is going to these things for nostalgia. They are going to because they
are bored at home, under quarantine, and looking for something to do. If the
governor didn't excempt drive-ins no one would even bother.

~~~
take_a_breath
I think it could happen in cities. We have huge, empty parking lots outside of
sports stadiums that aren’t being used right now.

~~~
CydeWeys
Depends on the city. Wouldn't work for me or almost anyone I know because
almost none of us own cars. Because of social distancing this is only workable
if most people own cars. And you wouldn't be able to easily hang out with your
friends anyway; you'd only be in the same car as whoever you already live
with, at which point just watching from the couch, with the comforts of your
own bathroom and refrigerator, sounds more appealing.

There's also contagion potential with the shared bathrooms and concessions at
an outdoor theater type setup.

~~~
BurningFrog
> _Because of social distancing this is only workable if most people own cars_

"Most people" don't need to go. You only need enough people to fill up the
place.

If 1% of people in a big city starts going to drive in theaters, that would
support several venues.

~~~
CydeWeys
We'll see. I'm curious to see if any of these open up here in NYC. I'm
guessing it's just not worth trying to do, though; the uncertainty is so high,
and the payoff window is likely quite narrow.

The economy is pretty messed up right now though, and it's not a great time
for new risky business ventures. And while you may be able to maintain social
distancing while the venue is actually operating, how about while putting it
together?

------
skrebbel
I'm from a country that doesn't live in cars, can someone explain the drive-in
to me? Does everybody have a cabriolet, or how do you see the screen at all?
Is it visible through the windshield? How about the audio?

~~~
BurningFrog
> _Is it visible through the windshield?_

Do you not have transparent windshields in your country?

~~~
hedora
Sure, the engine has one for the conductor, but most cars don’t.

~~~
bluGill
I'm sure your country has at least a few personal cars. There are a a few
islands that don't, but otherwise you have seen cars.

------
saalweachter
There's a half dozen drive-ins or so around the Hudson Valley.

They're great if you have small children and want to leave the house to see a
movie -- your kids can bounce around the back seat without bothering anyone
else.

------
calaniz
It’s sort of an odd turn about. My grandfather owned and operated several
drive in theaters in Texas. The businesses were handed down to him by his
mother, who ran the theaters herself with her husband. Technology like home tv
and the vcr changed peoples theater habits. They socially distanced at home
and we saw a near extinction of the drive in theater. It’s sort of ironic that
now were moving in the opposite direction. So much time with Netflix and
various streaming services that we’re seeking out the safety of a drive in
theater today.

What a resurgence. We closed our last theater in the 2000’s but I’ve got fond
memories of working the box office with my grandfather weekend evenings.

------
js2
Here’s one in NC which id currently closed per the NC stay-at-home order.

[http://www.raleighroaddrivein.com/](http://www.raleighroaddrivein.com/)

It was briefly donating its location for Sunday prayers:

[https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article2416043...](https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article241604316.html)

------
hkmurakami
Apparently we have one drive-in theater in San Jose and one in Concord in the
bay. I totally would have expected them to be extinct by now.

Appatently the SJ theater is hosting an Easter service today
[https://www.mercurynews.com/san-jose-church-hosting-
easter-s...](https://www.mercurynews.com/san-jose-church-hosting-easter-
services-at-drive-in-movie-theater)

------
Zenst
That's brilliant and certainly perfect for today's climate of health concerns.
Makes you wonder how much of past practices in society we shall reinvent.
Certainly know a few people who learned to make their own bread and others
growing some of their own food, not enough to live on but enough to augment
their needs.

------
mseidl
I am really hoping for new releases to to be streamed digitally now. I'd pay
for it.

~~~
buckminster
How much do you want it?

[https://www.redcarpethomecinema.com/](https://www.redcarpethomecinema.com/)

~~~
Reedx
From their FAQ: _" Movies will be variably priced with the most current films
in the low thousands - no movie will be priced below $500. This will permit
two viewings within a 36 hour period."_

I was thinking $20, heh.

~~~
ghaff
I mean, I know there are people for whom $500 is loose change in the seat
cushions. But are there seriously enough of them who absolutely _must_ see a
new release right now (and who don't know someone who can knock loose a
screener for them) to support this as a business?

~~~
throwaway3neu94
On their website, there is a "Fact Sheet" PDF with a 1-page business
description linked at the bottom. It says:

"Target consumer: wealthy individuals with home media rooms"

Duh.

It also says the two founders were CEO of ticketmaster, and home distribution
president at Warner Bros. I suppose these two would know how to price this,
and who to talk to for licensing.

------
baron816
I went to a drive in theater a few months ago with some friends. It was a
pretty terrible experience. We tried sitting outside since it was be better
than sitting in the cramped back seat of a sedan. That made it impossible to
hear most of the movie since other cars would turn on their engines, or a low
flying airplane would pass overhead, or a train would go by. Other problems:
light pollution from cars driving by with their headlights on would fade the
screen, other screens playing different movies was very distracting, and going
to the bathroom would take 15-20 minutes since it was so far away.

A car seat is never going to be more comfortable than a movie theater
recliner, or your own couch. And listening to a film over the radio isn't
going to produce as good a sound as your home theater system.

~~~
catalogia
It sounds like you were simply looking for a different sort of product. The
point of a drive-in theater is not to produce a high-fidelity experience. You
may as well go skiing and complain about the cold.

------
agumonkey
These sort of leisure would be the perfect opportunity to give some air to
people and have some activity too. Employ people to check few people per car
and same family and you're good to go.

------
Jemm
I wonder how they handle having a hundred people needing access to a restroom.
My memories of drive in included a line up 20 deep of women waiting to use the
restroom.

------
RickJWagner
Once a summer or so, my family goes to the Kenda Drive In in Marshall,
Arkansas.

People usually play frisbee and socialize while we wait for darkness to
arrive. Food and snacks are delicious and moderately priced. The ticket to get
in is something like $20 a carload.

I don't know how the owners make money. I figure it must be some kind of
community service project, promoting a wholesome community. It is awesome.

------
hkchad
They closed ours down here in MO just as we were about to go this weekend, oh
well.

------
3stripe
Why risk your life and the lives of others to go watch a movie? Not essential
and therefore very questionable.

~~~
detaro
With a blanket rule like that you shouldn't do anything ever. What risk do you
think isn't addressed properly here?

~~~
3stripe
Hmmm let's see — restrooms, people sitting outside (like the kids in the
photo) or passing close to each other, even cars parked closer than 2m
together with the window open. I'm sure there are more. (Edit: I'm not saying
that any of these are highly likely, but I do think it's impossible to rule
them out).

------
caseysoftware
I'd love to go to a drive in. It'd be a blast and good way to get out.

But when local/state governments can shut you down as "non-essential" even if
you're following all the guidelines, no business can come back to life.
They're just on a "stay of execution" until someone changes their mind the
other way.

------
xwdv
It won’t last. At the heart of great cinema is great audio, and you won’t find
that in a vehicle.

~~~
vidanay
Perhaps movies could be made with real dialog and stories and not just loud
explosions and sound effects that necessitate "great audio" (a highly
subjective definition to be sure.)

~~~
Mediterraneo10
Strange that you think great audio is something only action films need. As
soon as 5.1 mixing and encoding tools became cheap and widely available, even
independent filmmakers writing "real dialog and stories" rushed to adopt them.
And film schools emphasize how careful audio editing (and appropriate playback
equipment) can bring a rich new dimension to one’s filmmaking, and some of the
textbook examples that are used are 1960s auteur cinema like Ingmar Bergman’s
_Persona_.

