Can You Complete the Obstacle of Escaping the North Atlanta Parking Deck?
Sophomore Mia Barbieri said the hardest part of any student’s day can be getting through the parking deck safely.
The long and dreadful day of school is finally over, there is only one obstacle left, and it should not be taken lightly considering reckless teens are driving machinery that are 50 times bigger than you. Many would think getting to your car would be a piece of cake but it most certainly isn’t. As soon as you step into the parking deck cars are flying by, wheels are screeching, and students are trying to get their way through the final, yet most difficult obstacle. Some are frantic to get home as fast as they can and beat the traffic, along with others that are still trying to make it to their car in an orderly fashion. It is straight chaos.
| During the morning and afternoon students are driving extremely fast rushing to get to class on time or trying to get home as quickly as they can. Most of the drivers are so frantic to get out that they are so persistent whether a student is in the way of their path or not. While you are trying to get to your car you have to take extra precautions and make sure that you make eye contact with the driver in order to ensure that it is safe to cross or walk by without getting hit. | ||
| Students that are driving need to take a moment and think about the consequences from going so fast and if it is really worth it. If everyone would drive at a safe speed students wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not the driver is going to stop or pay attention to their surroundings, it would just be the new normal. One glance to the left and it’s clear, but then within a matter of seconds another car whips around the corner because they are going so fast. Walking is no longer a choice, you are forced to sprint in order to avoid getting hit by a reckless teen that has no idea how to be courteous of pedestrians, let alone their fellow classmates. |
From time to time a traffic officer comes into the parking deck and screams at the inexperienced teen drivers to slow down. The question is that, is it really effective and necessary? The answer is yes for the time being. The students will come to a quick halt and take more precautions when the officer is present, but as soon as the officer takes their eyes off of the driver before you know it they are quickly accelerating and whipping around the corner so fast that tires are screeching. By the time that the officer notices the reckless driver there is nothing that can be done because the next car is coming in the parking deck at a fast speed and action must be taken. This method is only effective if the traffic officer is present (which is very rare) this tactic is not effective for long-term change with the drivers, because when they leave they are just going to return to the same shenanigans that were taking place before.
Many life or death situations can be encountered throughout your life such as coming across a grizzly bear in the wilderness, getting stung by jellyfish, getting the flu, falling off of a ladder, and walking in the North Atlanta Parking deck. Walking in the North Atlanta Parking deck should not be a deadly situation, if anything you are at school and you should feel safe, instead students are developing a realistic fear of getting hit by a reckless driver. The point is that drivers at North Atlanta need to take more precautions while entering and exiting the parking deck to ensure everyone’s safety and that silly accidents can be avoided.
