By Monica Arkin
There are three things at BHS that irritate me: doors that open into the hallways, the bell between classes that sounds like the seatbelt sign on an airplane, and people who make left turns out of the parking lot onto Richmond Road.

I simply don’t understand why people turning left onto Richmond can’t just take the Fairmount exit instead and make a right on red there. They would get on the road much quicker than they would coming from the Richmond exit and would not single-handedly create a traffic jam in the BHS parking lot.

There were countless times in the fall when I needed to drive from the BHS parking lot to the BMS parking lot for soccer practice, a task that should take a minute or two. However, there would often be some unaware driver at the front of the line with a left-turn signal flashing, oblivious to the long line of twenty cars flashing right-turn signals behind, waiting for the light to turn green. My drive that should have taken 90 seconds turned into a seven-minute trip, all because of one driver who was either uninformed or inconsiderate.

It is now halfway through the school year and I still occasionally get stuck behind someone turning left out of the high school onto Richmond. It is not uncommon at 2:50pm to see a long line of stationary cars leading to the Richmond exit, and finally at 2:55pm the light turns green: the line leader turns left onto Richmond and the remaining thirty cars all turn right. Many times I have sat in my driver’s seat and wondered (sometimes aloud) whether the person turning left is clueless as to what an inconvenience they have created, or if they are just rude.

I decided to find out if other people consider this an issue as well, or if I just have a short temper. I interviewed students and faculty at BHS with one question, “what do you think of people who turn left out of the high school onto Richmond?” Below are just some of the many answers I received.

“They should be aware that they would get home quicker if they took the Fairmount exit. They won’t wait as long and won’t hold up other people.” –science teacher Glenn Novotny

“It’s irrational to turn left at a red light when there’s 50 feet between the [Fairmount-Richmond intersection] that you’re probably gonna hit anyways.” –senior Raleigh Cohen

“Turn left where?” –senior Parimal Patel

I think honestly it’s faster for them to go out the Fairmount exit. They show a complete disrespect for people who want to turn right. I’ve had to go up over the curb on the sidewalk to turn right.” –senior Sam Bernstein

“When I was younger I would’ve been very impatient and probably have mumbled things under my breath. Now that I’m a bit older, I just accept the fact that I’m going to need to wait and I do it patiently without any anger or intensity.” –art teacher Alan Scott

“Hate them. They should burn in hell. We have to wait like 20 years to turn right! Teachers do it! That’s what Fairmount is for!” –senior Ben Besunder

“It’s like that everywhere. It happens in every lane where you can turn left or right. I don’t feel bad. It’s 10 times quicker if I take Richmond because I have to wait for the light on Fairmount, too.” –senior Lisa Friedman

“I particularly like it when they’re sittin’ there, talkin’ on their cell phone to their friends, not paying attention to the green light, and go right before it turns red. That’s my favorite.” –multidisciplinary teacher Hank Schulte

“It doesn’t bother me at all.  It is unfortunate that this is what enrages people. War, poverty, disease and left turns out of Beachwood High School, something doesn’t add up.” –English teacher Todd Butler

“I hate the people that try to turn left on Richmond. It keeps people waiting for a long time. They should just take the Fairmount exit. Plus the light turning left on Richmond from Fairmount changes far more often.” –senior Max Sullivan

“Just as there’s no left turning in, there should be no left turning out. That way, people won’t get backed up and they can use the Fairmount exit instead.” –science teacher Jim Burton

“I just wanna say, get outta my way yo!” –junior Asha Clark

“That should definitely be right turn only. The only other option is to have it be an exit only. The left lane would turn left only and the right lane would turn right only.” –math teacher Lisa Morgan