<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2sxouy_1GbyTCJA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2sxouy_1GbyTCJA00" width="1200" height="771" ></figure>Almost every teenage dream tends to express a single, usually tangible thing that they want: a license. A shiny, vertical card that grants said teenager the ability to operate any vehicle of their choice. It’s even represented in media as a means of newfound expression, a newfound freedom for the child to explore on their own.It’s always all sunshine and rainbows until they realize that they aren’t driving in some “la la land,” but instead stuck in the Ludlow Mass of all suburban places within the state. I just don’t get the logic. Driving as a student, soon-to-be driver: Ludlow becomes a calm area to drive in and miraculously nothing goes wrong for those twelve hours of state-required driving. And yet, the literal millisecond with my freshly new certification to be out there on my own—it’s practically Mad Max all throughout the town.Driving as a High School Student (Hell on Earth)Arriving at the school parking lot, at least in my many experiences, is honestly one of the most calming parts of the school day. Even in instances of both normal first periods and arriving late due to first period DLTs, nothing out of the ordinary is likely to happen. At least, except for when the extraordinary occurred at this school year’s college fair on the 21st. Students (as usual) were politely asked to relocate their usual placements toward their secondary student lot to allow teachers to give up their spots for the college representatives. Instead of the norm in which early students are given the opportunity to fill up the parking lot while late students must file in line within the mini street next to it, the complete opposite had been enforced by the admin around twenty-ish minutes before opening doors.Sure, this abrupt change didn’t really matter all that much—whatever. I just would have loved some kind of notice that alerted all of us rather than coming up to our windows and, politely, might I add, kicking us from the secondary parking lot as more students continue to file in.Nonetheless, again, there’s nothing to worry about as soon as morning lot struggles are over. At worst, some jackass without a parking pass might park too comfortably beside your car—or even worse—take your spot completely just before you enter the parking lot entirely. It’s not even that uncommon either. Senior Selena Yusuf had recently experienced said issue: “One day I didn’t drive to school, Layla [Henriques] drove me, and I looked outside to someone in my spot. ‘That’s weird,’ ‘cause that’s my spot. I ask someone to take a photo with the license place, but I never did anything about it since it was only for a week. But [during that week] I went outside after school and they didn’t have the parking pass—the card—meaning they were illegally parking in my spot. If you’re going to illegally park in a spot, it better not be in my spot.”Again, whatever. It’s just something every student driver has to get used to. I would only really say the worst truly comes out when the school day’s over. This specific critique is more nitpicky than anything—why do athletes, and anyone coming to the school after hours, for that matter, always choose to pick the spot next to another car rather than the vast majority of vacant spots?Like, God forbid you decide to park somewhere other than the already crowded cluster of students staying for clubs rather than the other areas of completely empty spots. Of course—I wouldn’t mind this at all if it weren’t for the fact that some just can’t seem to park without again, practically going over the very line that divides us.But don’t get me started on trying to leave the school. God. It’s one thing if you’re on the bus-nearing side of the senior lot; you’ve got plenty of space to drive through. Oh, but the narrow lane with the two speed bumps? Suddenly everyone loses common sense?!The common rule, at least from what I quickly (and easily, mind you) learned: <ol><li>You drive on the side you plan to turn, ie: right turn on the right side, vice versa.</li><li>If you’re giving the person beside you trouble seeing if they’re good to eventually turn, whether by car size or by pulling out too far, you help them before going on your way.</li></ol>And for whatever reason, it’s the parents of unlicensed students that completely demolish said unspoken rules. Why are you driving in the middle regardless of students clearly driving towards you? I’m not going to drive onto the curb for you just because you don’t understand that two cars can drive beside each other in the lane.And, oh my God, the parents who make the 5-mile-per-hour turn exiting the front parking lot. Does no one know how to properly turn at a respectable speed to merge with ongoing traffic? Students already are trying to make that traffic-filled left turn, just for parents to drain the short period of chapin’s temporarily empty street with the slowest turn known to man.It’s not even that hard of a maneuver to perform either: stop pressing the gas pedal the lightest you’ve ever gone when there’s no reason to. And even then, there’s never going to be a reason to make the disgustingly slow turns made by parents, and on rare occasions, students.Driving as a Ludlow Citizen (Super Hell on Earth)With all the inconvenient construction that the town has during peak traffic hours—you would think that almost every street wouldn’t still have potholes that could kill a Victorian child trying to walk through them. Where is all of my money from my job going for in taxes if it’s not to fix all of these potholes.The whole midnight construction gimmick in the intersection leading to the Chapin East Variety Store proved to be a great concept. Like, actually, I mean it quite literally, it was possibly one of the best decisions (in relation to construction) made by the town as a town that primarily stirs traffic during the day rather than throughout the night.And on some days, the potholes and insanely inconveniently placed road work aren’t even the most concerning thing to look out for. Sometimes, it’s just the extreme fog that rolls though the town on random mornings that completely dissipates any possible view you had before. I completely understand that as the suburban town that Ludlow is, this being their attempt at limiting light pollution results in a concerning lack of lights overall. Like, I genuinely cannot believe I’ve never noticed this small number of lights sprouted throughout the town during my lessons with my instructor.Of course there’s a decent spread throughout the major areas, like East Street, but even then—there are never lights where drivers completely disregard right of way simply because they cannot see any other driver. I shouldn’t be constantly anticipating a random car to make a sudden swerve into the street in front of me simply because neither of us can see each other from the lack of lights between oversaturated areas.And with the mention of other drivers becoming their own half-hazard obstacle, why is the fact that adult drivers operate so much worse than other high school drivers like myself? I’ve only had countless interactions with students that legitimately consisted of simply assisting with one another, ie: right side student in narrow lane lets left side student know whether or not they can make their turn after them before driving off. As with the adults, I’ve been almost hit multiple times from their overall lack of capability in driving. Why are you, a grown adult man, in an extremely large truck slamming the gas pedal while making your turn into our shared street when you can clearly see me making my own turn towards you to exit the area? There’s a concerning amount of children playing in said street, and you continue to make the conscious decision to speed up with multiple possible casualties in the way?And it’s not even just simple stupidity that becomes evident, but overly cautious (to a dangerous degree) drivers operating their vehicle at a slower speed than the limit on a completely sunny and clear day. I’m “sorry,” but I just cannot comprehend the reason behind driving at a purposely slower limit on a completely non-hazardous day. Age cannot be an excuse, and for whatever reason it is: you should not be on the road; you are too old. And the worst part is: they’re the same drivers that shame and honk at actual drivers like ourselves for not running red lights or performing half-assed “California rolls” at stop signs.I just simply cannot have any compassion for drivers around me if they aren’t miraculously within the same age range. I don’t know if this is just a weird trait to be gained as I grow older and become more prone to acknowledging the general “look” drivers tend to have in this town, but I cannot stand it anymore. Yes, there are far worse towns to be a young driver in, but oh my God, I cannot wait to get out of here for college.</div></body>

Block Source: ludlowcub.com

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Almost every teenage dream tends to express a single, usually tangible thing that they want: a license. A shiny, vertical card that grants said teenager the ability to operate any vehicle of their choice. It’s even represented in media as a means of newfound expression, a newfound freedom for the child to explore on their own.

I Hate Driving in Ludlow, Massachusetts

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Almost every teenage dream tends to express a single, usually tangible thing that they want: a license. A shiny, vertical card that grants said teenager th

I Hate Driving in Ludlow, Massachusetts

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