On a normal afternoon in the North parking lot of Bob Jones High School, the parking lot is congested with angry parents parading through in attempts to pick up their kids and stressed students trying to leave. To me, this seems like an obvious equation for disaster. Although, this situation is seemingly unavoidable, we can adjust the flow of traffic by providing students a safer way to leave the premises.

There are lots of questions regarding the parking lot that I ponder daily. Why are parking passes $40? Why am I being charged to park on state owned property? Why does it take so long to leave school? Why do parents drive so aggressively? Why is there a whole exit in the North lot completely blocked off? Doesn’t it make it easier to pull through a parking space?

In the Bob Jones High School student handbook of the 2015-2016 school year on page 22, number 7 it states, “Vehicles must be parked headed into the parking area.” Regarding the South lot, this is an ineffective rule due to the concrete stoppers in the centerline of the parking spaces, disallowing students to pull through. However, it applies to the North lot, which does not contain such barricades.

When the carline runs through the entire area of the North lot, it can be very dangerous to back out into a long line of angry, stubborn parents and students. Mary Tombyll, a senior at Bob Jones, said, “I haven’t been driving for very long and it’s kind of intimidating to back out in front of people who could and probably will hit me.” The rule listed above bans an action that effectively makes the school parking lot safer. Pulling through a parking space, after checking for people pulling in, is a safer way to leave school.

People may believe pulling through a parking space may cause an accident, however, backing over a pedestrian causes 45% of non-traffic fatalities. Cars continuously circle through the North lot, therefore making it difficult for students attempting to back out. When 20% of all reported vehicle crashes occur in parking lots, why would we put our children in more danger by leaving them in a position hit other cars and people?