New drivers are very common in high school. Sometimes high school drivers don’t tend to drive or park the best in the parking lot.

This year the high school had hundreds of new drivers. Driving in the parking lot with a whole lot of students can cause issues at some point. People in the parking lot sometimes tend to not look where they are going which can cause huge problems. Junior Isabella De Leon explains what it’s like driving in the school parking lot

“Driving in the school parking lot is a lot like being in a jungle; you have to watch where you’re going at all times, avoid the wildlife, and be prepared to stop unless you want to get into danger,” said De Leon.

high school students haven’t had much experience with driving. Teenagers seem to be more careless when driving which can bring other people in danger. Teens are also more likely to cause critical driving errors than adults. De Leon explains why she dislike driving in the high school parking lot.

“I feel like I am going to get hit every single day. That may sound like an exaggeration, but I pray people don’t pull out and hit me” said De Leon.

There are dozens of inexperienced teen drivers who may be distracted or in a hurry. The combination of these factors can increase the risk of pedestrian accidents. De Leon gives some tips for new inexperienced drivers.

“Definitely watch where you’re going, triple or quadruple check before you pull in or pull out of your parking spot, and please do not drive over 25 in the parking lot- I promise it’s not necessary” said De Leon.

When the bell rings after school the greatest risks arise. At the end of the day the majority of students that drive hurry to the parking lot and dozens try to leave at the same exact time. This is when resource officers can come in handy. De Leon explains how resource officers can maybe calm things down.

“Despite claiming that the parking lot is hectic, I really do not think that having resource officers would help. Having said that, I think it’s great that they sit and watch to make sure no one is being too much of a crazy driver, but I think that having them insert themselves would mess up the flow of traffic” said De Leon.

This year students had fun making social media pages around the school. For example, eating, dancing, sleeping and then bad parking pages. Freshman Preslee Mccoy tells us what she thinks about the school’s bad parking page.

“I thought it was kinda funny to be honest because it shows how lazy some teenage drivers truly are, but I think some did it on purpose to get clout,” said Mccoy.

All high school students are fairly new to driving. Just because they pass their license test does not mean they are prepared to drive in such a complex environment.

“Some people in this parking lot should just wait to drive in an area like this because they will hurt somebody one day,” said Mccoy.

Distractions can negatively affect driving performances for all drivers but for teens that can be especially dangerous because you can easily put somebody else’s life at risk. Preslee Mccoy explains how she got put in a dangerous situation in the school parking lot.

“Once I was walking across the parking lot and somebody else was driving while on their phone and almost hit me when I was just trying to walk across the street” said mccoy.

Students tend to love driving & getting a ride to school because they don’t have to be in a rush to catch a bus and they get to leave later than kids that do ride the bus. Mccoy explains why she likes riding to school in a car.

“You don’t have to leave so early and I don’t like riding the bus,” said Mccoy.

While it seems high school parking lots are environments where disasters happen, Senior Chase Hope also gives tips for new drivers in the parking lot.

“Be patient, you don’t need to be the first person out of the school parking lot. Also always Be looking in your mirrors and ahead of you, also stop at intersections” said Hope.

During the weekday school parking lots teem with new drivers, many of them are blasting music, goofing around. Combining that with pedestrians, buses, and car riders line isn’t a good outcome.
Hope explains how those combinations aren’t the best.

“People drive way too fast in the parking lot. I agree It’s fun to floor it sometimes but a parking lot with high schoolers who have air pods in and just decide to walk in the road is not the place to do it” said Hope.

The school parking lot plus the new drivers isn’t the safest environment. Schools have a hard time patrolling the parking lot and monitoring traffic. Hope explains how he thinks the parking lot isn’t safe.

“The school parking lot is not safe. I don’t think they have any cameras on the poles to catch If there are any crashes and people are crazy”. said Hope.

Lots of students would agree the school parking lot is hectic and students should be more careful than usual. Hope explains his experience in the parking lot.

“Driving in the school parking lot can be a little hectic at times. People Don’t always look where they’re going and just want to leave rather than Be safe on their way out”.

To make the parking lot a better environment parents can come in handy. Parents or guardians can give teens extra practice behind the wheel before going to school with dozens if so hundreds of other cars and students. Mccoy explains how parents can help.

“I feel like parents should have a conversation with their kids about driving safely in such a packed area,” said Mccoy.

Inexperienced teenage drivers can cause problems in the school parking lot and also put other pedestrians in danger or close to danger.