Last semester during third period, a student’s car got hit by another car doing doughnuts in the upper parking lot. This led to the student’s car getting totaled, as well as minor damages to another car. The car at fault left, resulting in legal issues dealing with the hit and run. This accident is just one of the many problems with the parking lot. Here are four issues with the student parking lot: 

Problem one: Line cutting. Drivers in line to leave campus sometimes choose to create that dreaded second line on the main lane — which is illegal — to cut in front of cars. They do this to get higher up into the line so they can leave faster instead of just patiently waiting for their turn. This is annoying because whenever people create the second line, when I have to turn into the main lane I am forced to get into the newly created line instead of the actual line. It also stresses me out whenever I’m trying to get into line to leave campus because I’m always afraid I’ll end up getting hit. A simple solution to this would be to not to create a second line or just block off that part of the lane.

Problem two: People who speed. It’s common to encounter people driving at the speed of light, which is quite irritating. Driving fast creates new dangers, such as getting hit and injured by one of these cars. This is also an issue after school due to the amount of people trying to leave at the same time. When I parked in the upper parking lot, I was always scared to back out because I thought a car would come out of nowhere and total my car. This reckless way of driving is one of the biggest issues with our parking lot, and the school should be focusing on stopping it to create a safer driving environment. An easy way to fix this is for students to respect the speed limit.

Problem three: Trash parkers. In the mornings, some people think it’s funny to park in two to three spots, reducing the number of parking spaces. This leads to students parking in front of businesses and houses. An easy fix would be to park in one spot instead of two or three. Inexperienced drivers sometimes park in between two spots and don’t re-park, which also creates a domino effect of students parking in between two parking spots. 

Problem four: Ignoring the one-and-one “rule”. This is mainly an issue in the side lanes which merge into the main exit lane. Many drivers choose to not allow other drivers to get into the line by speeding up and tailgating the driver in front of them. I have had plenty of experiences with this issue and it never fails to get on my nerves. When I park in the upper parking lot, it’ll usually happen at least once, and the person will just stare me down like I’m a complete idiot who doesn’t know how to drive. I think an easy way to fix this would be to actually follow the rules and allow cars to get into the line.

In conclusion, all of the speeding, bad parking, double lanes and the complete dismissal toward the one-and-one rule can be changed through proper enforcement by the school or if students somehow choose to actually follow the rules.