One major achievement that many high school junior and senior students work hard to earn is to earn a driver’s license. After long months of holding a learner’s permit and spending long, tough hours in behind-the-wheel training, students can finally enjoy their newfound driving privileges. Many students use this opportunity to drive themselves to school, and enjoy this new freedom. 

As a junior student, I was thrilled when I picked up my parking pass for the J-lot. I remember the first week of junior year very well, especially the feeling of being able to finally drive myself to school. I didn’t have to wait for a bus, nor did I need to have a parent take me to school. But as new drivers take on school parking lots, there are a few pieces of etiquette they need to know.

One helpful way to help keep the flow of traffic consistently going in the J-lot is to exit to the right of the parking lot. When you exit to the left, it disrupts other traffic, including the buses and the parent pick up line.

If you are caught turning to the left to exit, you will lose your driving privileges for one week. To ensure that this does not happen, always make sure to follow to turn right.

When it comes to parking in the J-lot, it is also important to park straight in order to fit the most amount of cars possible. This makes it easier for you to back out and easier for other cars to park next to you. When driving through the parking lot, make sure not to follow other cars too closely, as this is a potential safety problem. 

In addition, there is also a five mile per hour speed limit in the J-lot, and it is so necessary for people to follow this rule. This ensures the safety of all students, whether they are driving or walking throughout the J-lot. 

The next helpful tip I have to offer has to do with the pedestrians. To all students who are walking to their cars: it is important that you walk to your destination quickly and safely. Along with that, it is also important that cars watch for pedestrians. Many times I have seen cars quickly back out and not pay attention to students that are behind them.

Next, one useful tip is to drive up the parking lot facing the softball field to exit. You should not be driving in the direction of the baseball field, because the exit on that end is closed and you ultimately get in the way of other cars or pedestrians. 

One other helpful bit of advice I have to offer is to pick up trash and keep our parking lot clean! Every few steps, it is impossible not to see crushed Monster cans or old masks that have littered the ground and have been left in the gravel. This helps keep the school campus cleaner as well as our community cleaner. It is very easy to pick up little trash that you may have caused, and it has an even greater effect on keeping Rockbridge clean!

The junior parking lot should be a place that everyone can quickly enter and exit to park their cars and go about their ways. It is important to follow these rules in the junior parking lot to ensure the safety of all students. For any junior students needing to purchase a parking pass for the J-lot, visit the front office.