By: Freddy Monares
It seems that driving at East Los Angeles College and the unspoken decency that comes with driving has been lost.
Students driving at ELAC seem to have forgotten that they are all human beings and they will get to their destination sooner or later
Getting out of a parking spot in one of the several parking structures at ELAC has now become a trial of how fast drivers can reverse.
Frequently drivers have to shoot out before the next passing car comes and does not allow the driver to get out of their parking spot. Is it going to make you that much later if you stop and allow one car to get out of their parking spot?
Grand Theft Auto is a video game and should not be used as a demonstrational video game of how to drive in the real world.
Students have to remember that these other drivers getting out of parking stalls are also their fellow classmates, teachers and potential friends.
Students should not be burning those bridges before they are even built.
First impressions can go a long way. Students can be remembered as the driver that cut another student off and might not receive the same help from fellow classmates as another student who allowed a classmate to cut in front of them.
Drivers should show empathy towards other drivers trying to get out of their parking spots. After all, we have all stretched to the far back seats of our cars to find that perfect time to shoot out into cross-traffic.
Students have to also realize that the same rules that apply to pedestrians walking on the street, apply to pedestrians walking in the parking structure. If drivers see students about to cross a crosswalk, they should slow down.
Beating a pedestrian to a pedestrian crosswalk will only make you look impatient. Furthermore, it might be embarrassing if you are unable to beat the pedestrian to the crosswalk and come face-to-face with the person you are racing.
When speaking of driving conditions, the pedestrian can never be left out. Please realize that there are as many responsibilities as driving when acting as a pedestrian.
Drivers do not solely carry the full blame when talking about the rules of the road.
Pedestrians need to be careful that they are not walking in the middle of the road, where they can get hit. Often time, students walk too far in the middle of the parking structure.
I understand that there are no walkways for pedestrians in the parking structures but don’t take that out on drivers. Your walking partner won’t mind if you walk in front or back of them in order to save your life.
Be considerate of the fact that pedestrians and drivers have to share the same road. Students aren’t proving a point if they are walking in front of moving cars and drivers also don’t prove anything flying past a group of students walking in the structure.
The main thing we have to keep in mind about driving is patience.Understand that you will get to your class or destination at some point. Students should re-evaluate the time they leave home if they are rushing to class and having to speed through the parking structure.
Traffic in Los Angeles is inevitable. Learning how to deal with traffic in a parking structure might help your driving career and make you a better person.