How to Survive the Junior Parking Lot

How to Survive the Junior Parking Lot

If you have ever been to the wonderful institution that is Exeter High School, or even have viewed it from an aerial map, you will know that it is characterized by its four large and looming parking lots. One for teachers, one for sophomores, and two in the front for seniors, and of course juniors. If you have been at Exeter High School long enough, you are also likely familiar with the chaos that ensues in the Junior parking lot every day. And if you are like me, you probably ask yourself: “Why are juniors allowed to drive?”

From horn-honking, to fender benders, to line-cutting, the junior lot is home to some of the worst drivers you will ever share the road with, and even worse, all of them are anxious to get out of school as fast as humanly possible. In an effort to uncover the whys and hows of the junior parking lot, I sat down with the famous (and infamous to the line-cutters of the parking lot), Mr.Doucet, who does the brave work of traffic conducting every afternoon at 2:30. By working with Mr. Doucet, I have compiled a list of four rules to follow to survive the junior parking lot:

Rule Number One: Don’t Cut the Line

Although it may seem counter intuitive, if you are trying to get out of school fast, don’t cut the line. Most drivers already know this, but any line cutter spotted by Mr.Doucet, or other parking lot attendant, will be pulled aside, and let out after everyone else. And, according to Mr. Doucet, you can’t be nice and let people out either, because the strict no cutting rule has to be globally enforced “...if it's not enforced for everybody, then nobody will do it. So you have to enforce it each and every time.” The parking lot staffers want students to know—by word of mouth or by personal experience—that cutting the line is less productive than following the rules, and it can pose a serious safety risk for new drivers. 

Rule Number Two: Trust the System and Take Your Time

Although the process of leaving the school seems arduous, it currently only takes around fifteen minutes to clear out the entire parking lot, which is nearly half the amount of time it took just a few years ago, according to Mr.Doucet. Over time, the Exeter High School staff have been able to hone the system in place in the junior parking lot to make it what it is today. Though it isn’t perfect, students today may be getting out a whole fifteen minutes before students five years ago. 

However, the “system” is only half the battle, the respect of the system from the student driver is equally as important. As Mr.Doucet says, “If a rule doesn't make sense to you, it doesn't mean it doesn't make sense. And all of the rules that are in place are to maximize efficiency only after safety, safety first [then] maximize efficiency. If you don't understand the rule, I don't have time to explain it to you, that's not my job to explain to you.” If students just trust that they are going to get out of school on time, and follow the rules, then everyone’s exit will be swifter and safer. Additionally Mr.Doucet says the juniors this year have benefited from an explanation of the rules at the beginning of the school year, and have helped to make the system even more efficient. 

Rule Number Three: Pay Attention

The most accidents in the parking lot happen when students aren’t paying attention to their surroundings. “I would say that's the most important thing, because if you pay attention it's you're making it safer and you're making it more efficient,” says Doucet. Phone usage is oftentimes the root cause for EHS fender benders, which although unfortunate, is incredibly avoidable. Students who sit on their phones in line can also create backups, which slows down the process of leaving for everyone, and can allow for a lot of teenage road rage, something which is best avoided. Students just need to avoid looking at their phones while their cars are in drive, and also make sure to check their blind spots. Which, according to Mr.Doucet, is something that the current exit system is designed to eliminate. 

It can pose a serious risk to pull out of a parking spot without looking in both blind spots, and behind the car, especially with students often sprinting through the lots. I can speak from personal experience when I say that student drivers will get as close as humanly possible to running into your legs as you walk behind their cars. 

Rule Number Four: Park On the East Side

If you do find yourself in a little bit of a hurry after school, Mr. Doucet also provided some insight into where you should park to get out the fastest. According to the parking lot system, lines are dismissed randomly. With people at the front of each line in the Junior lot, picking a number between one and one hundred, and whoever’s number is closest to the one Mr.Doucet is thinking, leaves first. This makes it so that there is no way to “hack the system,” and there is never one “fast lane”. As such, Doucet suggests you to park on the “east side” (the east side isn’t actually east, however, when picturing a compass in the center of the parking lot, with the school being north, the right-most side of the lot would be east). By doing this, students can see which lane is leaving first, and get into the line where they see is the fastest. The worst places to park are any spots on the west side of the lot, where students have to wait for the entire lane to leave prior to getting in line. 

Although the farthest-east parking spots that are parallel to the school (instead of perpendicular) are often taken up by large trucks, students can still find success by parking on the east side of the middle most rows of parking, which allows them to pick and choose lanes(see diagram below). My personal advice for finding the best parking spot is getting there before 7:00, which gives more parking options, and gives you time to fix your parking job (something that most juniors also need some help with).