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Collision Course Correction School takes steps to improve parking lot safety

On the fourth floor of the parking garage, senior Sarah Small drives safely down the ramp, following all protocols. Driving above 10mph is prohibited and can result in being pulled over and lose parking privileges. Photo by Matteo Winandy

By Ellie Levy

The morning was Sept. 26.

The school was abuzz with the excitement for senior dress up week.

But tragedy struck.

A student driver struck two students walking together from their car to class. School nurses immediately responded to the scene, police were called and the accident underwent an investigation.

According to the National Safety Council, parking lots and parking structures are much riskier than many people believe. Deaths on private roads, including driveways and parking lots, claim between 900-1,900 lives annually.

“For some context, in 2021, the NSC estimates that more than 46,000 people died in preventable car crashes,” Media Relations Specialist Jennifer Schallmoser said. “That’s like a regional jet carrying 125 people crashing and killing all occupants every single day last year.”

The Highland Park High School parking garage, completed in 2019 after eight weeks of construction over the summer, houses the cars of juniors, seniors and staff members. All of these teachers and students parking in the same location can create hectic mornings and afternoons as people bustle in and out of the garage.

On one of these hectic mornings, there was an unfortunate accident where a student driver hit two other students walking to class.

“I think our kids are just distracted,” Principal Jeremy Gilbert said. “The week of the accident was senior dress up week, so they’re thinking ‘I’m excited to show my costume, I’m excited to see everybody else’s’ and they don’t think about their responsibility as a driver.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, teen car accident deaths increased by 15.6% from 2019 to 2020. Schallmoser says that parking lots pose a special risk.

“Parking lots are riskier than you think,” Schallmoser said.

"Tens of thousands of crashes occur in parking lots and garage structures annually, resulting in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries."

Police Chief Mark Rowden says that inattention is what causes this danger.

“Speed is definitely the most concerning issue,” Rowden said. “This is followed closely by driver inattention, usually involving cell phones.”

These statistics and the recent accident have caused action to be taken to keep the school safe. Gilbert says that the school has now upped the consequences of distracted or dangerous driving in the garage.

“The first consequence is that the student is called into the office to meet with their AP,” Gilbert said. “We [will] also [notify] their parents that there was an offense.”

On a second offense, the student is not able to park on campus for a week and they have lunch detention for a week and third offenders lose parking privileges for the remainder of the school year. In addition to these new consequences, new technology and a police presence in the parking garage work hand-in-hand to increase student safety.

“We have a police officer that goes into the parking garage and actually has a radar detector and gauges the speed of our students as they go through,” Gilbert said. “We also watch the cameras to see who is going the wrong way, and we actually have the ability to chart speed off of what the cameras are showing, although we haven’t had to use this yet.”

The school is also making an effort to reduce distracted driving in the parking garage through awareness education. Gilbert says that individual conversations between a student and their assistant principal can help create this kind of consciousness of one’s actions.

“I think it's just teaching awareness,” Gilbert said. “This way when kids are being brought in for violations, they understand the issue.”

"With that privilege comes a lot of responsibility and we need to be responsible."

Most importantly, students and staff are encouraged to make the parking garage safer by driving slowly, avoiding distractions and planning ahead to avoid a time-crunch that can make getting in and out of the garage a safer and smoother experience.

“We’re so lucky here in [Highland Park] to be able to drive our own cars to school,” Gilbert said.

Created By
Ellie Levy
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Credits:

Matteo Winandy