It goes without saying that here at FC, many students drive to school. Get here later than 7:10, and you’ll be lucky to find an empty spot not in the way back of the parking lot. With all these students, there is bound to be some risk of accidents; especially because many of these students are brand new drivers.
However, the school could do better about preventing some of these accidents simply by reminding people of the rules of the road. What do we mean by this? Let us explain. Say you are trying to leave out the front entrance. You pull out, you’re in your lane of the lot, and then you have to wait for 7 cars to go who do not let you go. If you’re anything like some student drivers, you may be a little risky and try to pull out in front. Boom, accident, and now everyone is backed up. We’re not just assuming students are more risky either, 37.1% of all fatal crashes involve a driver aged 16-20. On top of that, 69.3% of drivers in that age group reported that they texted, sped, or ran a red light while driving. Not only is it a safety issue, but it backs up traffic in the parking lot and is just all around annoying.
As well, every morning, students walk through the parking lot to make it to class. Yet many drivers disregard the speed limit in the parking lot. This creates a dangerous situation for students trying to reach class. Many students have their own accounts of either them or their friends nearly being hit by a car who flew through. Not only this, but some drivers do not yield to students walking. People in the parking lot are still pedestrians, you must yield and let them cross.
This is not optional, this is not who gets there first. If a student is trying to cross, you stop.
How do we help solve this? There are a variety of ways to ensure that there is continued movement in traffic and to keep the safety of students.
There needs to be better education on the rules of the parking lot. Every year, we get a speech on the same rules. Dress code this, no Doordash that. Part of the discussion that takes place needs to review the rules of the road and the idea of zipper merging.
Zipper merging remains to be the most efficient method of moving traffic through while avoiding accidents.
Additionally, there needs to be an implementation of speed bumps. Look, we get it, speed bumps are often irritating because we have to slow down before our car gets bounced around. However, FC drivers have proven that they are necessary. If there are several around the teacher parking lots, why are there none for the student drivers? They are quite literally new drivers, most teachers have been driving for longer than these students have been in high school.
The parking lot is a free-for-all. In the morning, cars fly through to find their parking spots. In the afternoon, students fight to be first to escape the parking lot like it’s NASCAR and others are just trying to walk to their car. We at the Bagpiper believe that emphasizing the parking lot rules much harsher at the beginning of the year as well as implementing speed bumps will create a safer and less hostile environment for students.