As the second semester of the ’22-’23 school year commences, start times are pushed four minutes earlier to make up for the days lost due to hurricane absences in the semester before. Rushing to make the new bell, young drivers encounter road rage from all ages as they cruise down Little Road to avoid receiving a tardy. With the heavy traffic flowing in, out, and around the school in the early hours of the day it becomes increasingly more difficult to avoid frustration.

Bus rider, Talib Armstrong (’23), expresses his views on the new schedule change and how it impacts his bus’ ability to get into school while faced with long lines of vehicles.

“It doesn’t really affect me that much because my bus always gets to school on time. I know that they changed all of the bus route times to keep up with the new schedule, but I can’t imagine what it’s like for other people who don’t get here before the traffic. It looks crazy out there,” Armstrong said.

Many parents and students cut each other off in the pursuit of reaching a higher position in the turning lane to get into the school. Not able to escape the road congestion, Emery Julian (’24) gets easily upset on his drive to school.

“Traffic intervenes a lot with my ability to get to school on time. I experience general anger with the reckless driving some people do, but I don’t act on any of my feelings. I hope that the schedule reverts back to normal next year, I definitely think that the earlier time puts people in a crankier mood,” Julian said.

Many police officers have come to regulate traffic in order to decrease the school zone crowd, even going as far as placing permanent cones to keep from driving illegally through multiple turn lanes at a time. As a car rider, Camryn Tryzbiak’s (’26) twenty-minute commute to school exposes her, more often than not, to a multitude of bad drivers.

“It’s super annoying to see people not follow the rules, especially the ones that the school sets in place. I’m not old enough to drive yet, but as a passenger it’s kind of scary to witness people almost get into accidents. We are all just trying to get to the same place at once,” Tryzbiak said.

With a new schedule and persisting traffic jams, it is more important than ever to stay calm while driving and be respectful of fellow drivers. Being aware of surrounding vehicles will allow for a seamless flow of students into school, hopefully making the bell on time.