Once the clock hits 7:00am, cars begin to flood into Wiregrass Ranch High School (WRHS), and students dash to make it to their first period classes on time. Due to WRHS having over 2,400 students, things tend to get a bit crowded as many of them attempt to arrive on campus before first period starts.

Once a student achieves their drivers license, they are able to purchase a parking pass from the school and park in the parking lot. However, to be able to hang that snazzy tag on their rear-view mirrors, they have to jump through a few hoops. To park in the parking lot, a student must: have a valid driver’s license and proof of insurance, show proof of residency within the boundaries of the school, be cleared of all school obligations from the previous school year(s), have an unweighted 2.0 GPA, meet district attendance requirements, and attend and complete WRHS Driver’s Safety Class and parking application.

One staff member that is usually lingering around during the traffic jam is Bernard Roberts. He usually tries to direct traffic as much as he can.

“Drive safe and encourage people to get here early,” said Roberts. “There have been fender benders in the past. Unfortunately there is only one way in and one way out.”

The traffic in the morning consists of teachers, students who drive themselves, parents who are dropping off their students, busses bringing in students, and other people who are trying to bypass the school.  It is no secret that WRHS is over-crowded. Bringing in everyone all at once in a neat and orderly fashion is close to impossible.

When arriving to school, people find themselves running into two different types of drivers. The first driver drives like they are striving for the finish line in a race. They drive recklessly, and often times can be found cutting others off. The other type of driver is the overly cautious driver. These people drive how they walk, slow.

Matthew Shafer, a junior at WRHS, is one of many students who drive to school and has an opinion on the traffic.

“The traffic in the morning sucks. Everyone drives slow and is always breaking excessively!” Groaned Shafer. “I drove last year, and it seems like it is even worse this year. People are out there in the morning but they do not really seem to do much to help; that is the problem.”

The mornings are monitored by a police officer and staff member and usually an assistant principal or member of the support staff. It can be hard to watch every move someone makes, so some things tend to slip through the cracks. Over the years, there have not been many major accidents that have happened, but a few fender-benders here and there have taken place.

In order for students and staff to make it into school in a neat and timely manner, students need to try and come to school earlier than they normally do. Getting to school around 6:50am allows for students to have plenty of time to get in, park, and walk to class.