It’s time we officially establish the following: The daily chaotic scene in our parking lot is not the student drivers’ faults, it’s the parents’.
Twice a day throughout each school week, a disturbance can be felt in our small map dot. The only thing louder than the frustrated sighs of the student body is the honks from the cars they are driving. The minutes leading up to 7:45 a.m., and, following 2:30 p.m. are anxiety ridden and dangerous.
It is a common belief that student drivers are more reckless and at risk, and there is definitely merit to that statement. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, teen drivers have a per mile crash rate that is four times greater than drivers aged 20 and older. Additionally, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia asserts that teen drivers have a greater crash rate when driving under the influence, despite doing so at a lesser rate than adults.
The statistics do not lie, and I have no desire to argue with them. But it is important to look at these harrowing numbers in context. The statistics above encompass a greater number of circumstances than the school parking lot. Those data points include highway driving, night driving, multi-lane roads, driving while intoxicated and other circumstances that are highly unlikely to exist in our parking lot.
The truth about our parking lot chaos lies beyond those numbers, in the daily interactions between student drivers and adults. The issues begin in the morning, at which time parents seem to ignore the mile-long traffic backup behind them. It’s not uncommon for a parent to slam on the brakes in the middle of Wootton Parkway to let their kids hop out of the car, and they often don’t use proper turn signals or cautions. This is just one example of common occurrences that contributes to the overwhelming traffic each morning, and demonstrates parents thinking they are above using the designated dropoff lane.
Another prominent issue for student drivers is when parents park in their parking spaces. Students pay for their permits, have a list of rules to adhere to, and rely on their spots for getting to class on time each day. Therefore, frustration is understandable when students find their spots filled by a parent’s car, seemingly just lounging around. This also contributes to the congestion and anxiety that is a staple of the lot.
Even when students’ spots are left empty, having the space to park is not a given. Senior Cayla Schwartz was voted by her peers as the worst parker for the yearbook senior superlatives. “I’d say that I’m not nearly as bad of a parker outside of school as I am here. Part of that is because I’m trying to get to class on time but I think the biggest thing is all the parent drivers being in the parking lot. They really clog up the lanes and they will trail me so closely so I don’t have space to pull backwards or forwards,” Schwartz said.
The other adults in the lot, the teachers, also see the dangers the parents cause. Several teachers park in the lower parking lot next to the stadium entrance, and it gives them a front row seat to the daily chaos. “When I come to school I see parents ignore the stop sign, which creates a dangerous situation. They just don’t watch where they are going and aren’t aware of their surroundings,” physical education teacher Victoria McCarthy said.
Any student driver will tell you that it is other students who give them the space to pull out of their parking spot or into the main lane, and it is parents who speed up to close any openings. This system has created competition where there should be compassion, and it worsens the experience for everyone.
Perhaps the most frustrating parental habit of all is their tendency to cut across lanes that they are clearly not supposed to cut across. The lot is littered with arrows to direct them, yet they so often ignore these directions. Not only is it dangerous to the other drivers, and certainly to the students walking through the lot as well, but, it also depicts the underlying reason for all the issues I have discussed, ego.
The majority of parents in the lot have a preconceived notion that they are more important than the students. It’s possible that they think that their time is more valuable than students, or maybe it is because they are more experienced drivers. But whatever drives their behavior, it is not legitimate. Students also have places to be and things to do, and their treatment in the lot should reflect that.
Ultimately, with or without parents, our parking lot is a dangerous, crowded and stressful place. But it is undoubtedly worsened by parents’ lack of awareness, and undeserved feeling of superiority over every other driver in the parking lot. With a little bit of patience, and a whole lot of rule-following, our parking lot could become a safer and less stressful place.
