School Introduces Mandatory Traffic Rules to Reduce Student Congestion
Chloe Correa ’27
Anyone who has tried to get to class during passing period knows the chaos of the hallways: sudden stops, unexpected turns, and groups of students blocking entire corridors. After continuous complaints from students and faculty, the school administration has finally introduced a new rule: all students must walk strictly on the right side of the hallways. I can imagine most of your reactions when reading this. You’re probably laughing and thinking this is some kind of joke. However, once we return from spring break, this rule will go into immediate effect. So, how will it work in practice and what can we expect? No need to fear, because I’ll go over the new BHSEC Traffic Laws with all of you, so we can collectively avoid reckless walking!
BHSEC Manhattan Student and Family Handbook:
Traffic Laws
1.) On all instructional floors (2nd - 5th), everyone is required to travel on the right side of the hallway. Exceptions include during the middle of class time or when a faculty member suggests otherwise.
This rule helps keep traffic organized when traveling around the building and is efficient in preventing accidents, such as student collisions.
2.) When using the staircases, everyone must walk on the right side going up and on the left side going down.
This is definitely one of the most efficient ways to avoid collisions and reduce tardiness, and it’s especially helpful during fire drills! It’s like hitting two birds with one stone.
3.) There will be appointed school aides and faculty members during designated periods who will monitor the traffic in the hallways and on the staircases.
To make matters better, we will all be supervised to make sure everyone follows the rules and ensure that traffic keeps moving smoothly.
4.) When entering classrooms, everyone must use hand signals as described below to indicate if they are making a turn or a stop.
- Left turns: Stick your arm out horizontally (parallel to the ground).
- Right turns: Stick your arm up toward the ceiling.
- Stops: Stick your arm down towards the ground.
Before making a left turn, you must wait for an appropriate gap and yield to any oncoming traffic to ensure safety. If you miss your turn, you’ll need to loop back around to enter your classroom.
This rule is excellent in ensuring that everyone gets to their destination smoothly with little to no chaos, while also increasing awareness in our surroundings when deciding it is safe to turn.
5.) It is prohibited to jaywalk, make illegal left-turns, and go against the orders of traffic monitors. One violation of these rules will result in a warning, with multiple resulting in revocation of privileges, such as going outside for lunch. Punishments can vary based on the severity and number of occurrences of violations.
Of course, there are consequences to any violations of these rules. But they aren’t meant to make anyone miserable or upset. They are meant to promote discipline and respect towards these rules which are only meant to protect us and increase efficiency in the school.
With the new implementation of these rules, there will be mandatory town halls where students will have the opportunity to practice these traffic rules collaboratively and productively to settle everyone into this system. And of course, these town halls will happen at the start of every school year to come, which everyone will have to participate in, even if you already understand the rules. In the meantime, let’s all take the time to review the handbook to ensure full understanding of the rules and enhance the general safety and efficiency of getting around the building.