Driving into a new set of rules
March 12, 2019
An obnoxious horn honks to signal the red vehicle to halt at the stop sign. Even with speed bumps put on the road and a number of stop signs, there are still drivers who do not pay full attention to the rules of the road. To ensure the safety of students while driving, a new way of controlling traffic and major concerns surrounding the student parking lot will be added. On March 25, the security booth located in front of the student parking lot entrance will be in use to check students’ school IDs.
“Anybody who works here they all have a goal in mind no matter what happens which is always to think about the students’ safety,” campus advisor Shaun Olavarria said. “With the guard check we’ll be able to monitor the cars that come in and out of there.”
In the past, there have been incidents in the student parking lot because some students feel the need to rush out of the area as fast as possible. Drivers the ages 16-19 tend to be in more car crashes than drivers who are above the age of 20.
“There haven’t been many accidents this year,” administrator Shawn Lingard said. “Last year there were a couple, thankfully it hasn’t been too bad.”
Not only is student driving a concern, but there are also concerns about students who do not have a student parking pass.
“A lot of students without parking passes park in there [the student parking lot],” junior Camila Baez said. “I feel like even if they keep getting referrals or in trouble for it, they’ll still keep doing it because they don’t care.”
With approximately 400 drivers in the parking lot when all are present, it can create a hectic place after the bell rings as students try to leave all at once.
“As soon as you get in the car it’s like a huge battlefield everyone’s trying to get out as fast as they can,” sophomore Hailey Banks said. “There’s this whole traffic jam of people turning in the wrong lanes. It’s crazy.”
Rules are encouraged to stay persistent for students to take them seriously on campus. Checking students’ IDs is one way to solve how serious administrators are about student safety.
“They used to do it a few months ago then they stopped checking,” senior Acoyae Fulton said. “I think they should check student IDs that way they’ll be keeping track of the students that come and go.”
Many students may agree with the idea of checking IDs while others may not. Either way the security booth will enhance the safety of the students and will hopefully keep a smoother flow of traffic.
“The students not paying attention when they are driving really concerns me,” Lingard said. “Just like the other schools in Volusia County we will use the security booth to make sure that nobody leaves campus when they are not supposed to, and people don’t enter that are not supposed to.”