The spring semester is finally upon us and that gives all college students the chance for a fresh start, but a new semester also brings with it the added dread of having to navigate around campus trying to find a parking spot in an already hectic campus.

Before someone can actually attend class, they must first drive around the gauntlet of students and then fight off the road rage of other student drivers.

Looking for a parking spot during the first few weeks of school is reminiscent of watching sharks during a feeding frenzy. It’s as if all the rules and courtesy get thrown out the window as thousands of students fight for that premium parking spot.

A simple stroll through the campus parking lot or the surrounding area and anyone can see what type of madness is out there.

On one side of the campus, student drivers are making dangerous U-turns in busy intersections trying to return to a parking spot they just spotted only to arrive and see that the spot has already been taken.

Then there are other drivers that stop in the middle of an intersection as they wait for a spot to open up; all this while a line of traffic builds behind them congesting an already busy street.

But it gets worse, there are those students who must’ve given up after a lengthy search and end up parking in front of a fire hydrant or even just on the corner of a street that is not meant for parking. Both of these are violations that can lead to some hefty fines.

The worst violation of all are the student drivers who park in a red zone, just because your front bumper is not in that red zone doesn’t make it OK to park there.

Instead of parking in prohibited areas, just drive a block further and park somewhere that’s legal, an extra couple minutes added to your walk isn’t going to hurt you.

But this type of madness isn’t strictly confined to the surrounding areas around Bakersfield College. Some dangers can also be seen in the school parking lot as well.

There are those drivers that speed through the parking lot as if they were trying to win a NASCAR race only to slam on the breaks just before hitting a group of students trying to get to class. There is a reason that there are speed bumps in most of the parking lots.

Some student drivers simply choose to ignore signs that strictly prohibit parking in certain areas and still park there anyways. One popular place for those drivers arriving late is trying to squeeze as much time as possible out of the 45 minute parking or simply trying to blend in the staff parking lot hoping not to get a ticket.

The first few weeks of school are already a stressful time for college students and now we all have to worry about the dangers that lie in the parking lot and surrounding areas. It shouldn’t have to feel as if students are trying to cross a freeway before walking to class.

We should all be more courteous and careful while navigating around the parking lots, then maybe we could begin our school day with a thank you wave instead of being flipped the bird.