Safety remains at forefront with new speed bumps

Speed bumps were installed after Spring Break to slow down cars in the parking lot and protect students

JACK JAMISON Staff Reporter

Students returned from their week of spring break to a shock to their shocks. The school installed a set of four speed bumps in front of the school while they were away.

Two speed bumps were installed on the upper path of the drive and another two were installed on the lower path.

Speed bumps are a type of speed reduction device that can be installed in many situations like in a parking lot, for example. These are not to be confused with speed humps which are usually much flatter and longer as compared to the steeper speed bumps.

The variety that was installed at Ritenour is the 2.5 inch speed bump model made by the company Plasticade. The Des Plaines, Ill. based company produces all of their speed bumps out of recycled car tire rubber.

According to the Ritenour Director of Operations Michael Smith, the speed bumps that were installed in the front were just an initial test.

“We want to see how the current speed bumps work before installing more,” Smith said.

The decision was made after a recent uptick in the number of reports of speeding in the parking lot.

One of the school resource officers, Officer Elliot Miller said that he has observed this directly.

“This year I noticed there was a lot more speeding in our parking lots and on our driveway, there were a lot of complaints,” Miller said.

The school took these complaints seriously and installed the speed bumps to prevent this exact activity.

Miller posited that the installation was a good decision because of all of the foot traffic in the area.

“It is a really good tool to slow cars down so that nobody gets hurt, this is a school parking lot with kids walking around,” Miller said.

According to Miller the solution has been incredibly effective.

“I sit in my office every day and watch cars speed up to speed bumps and then they’ll slow down. Nobody wants to mess up their car,” Miller said.

Student drivers also have their own perspective on the installation of the speed bumps. Junior Viktor Pingel, said that he is not a fan of the recent installation.

“I don’t like them, it’s hard to drive slow over them, I feel like my car bumps up really high,” Pingel said.

However, Pingel did say that they are an effective solution to speeding in the parking lot.

“Oh yeah, it slows people down, they barely even move their car,” Pingel said.

Visual EIC: Danielle Haynes Content EIC: Chloe Sapp

Online Editor : Leanna Duncan Opinion and A&E Editor: Tori Pratt

Production EIC: Jennifer Huerta Lopez

Social Media Manager: Julia Lohnes

News and Spotlight Editor: Caroline Groceman Special Edition and Sports Editor: Layla Fouche Adviser: Ron Steinschriber

Staff Members: Evelyn Araiza Garcia, Mya Cates, Elizabeth Dobbs, Billie Ford, Caden Gaither, Jaden Gavin, Peyton House, Zoha Iqbal, Jack Jamison, Kaylee Jorke, Allison Madrid, Jordan Matthes, Kya Merriman, David Moore, Amareona Muhammad, Mariam Neeb, Skylar Powers, Amanda Salazar-DeLoyola, Margaret Susovica, Ashlin Thomas, Hallie Thornburgh, Klayton Wilkinson, Koby Wilkinson, Virginia Williams

Editorial Policy: The Pepper Box is designed and created by members of the newspaper staff of Ritenour High School. The purpose of the newspaper is to provide a forum for the students to focus on issues, give opinions, and share information with the Ritenour High School community. The opinions expressed in this paper do not reflect opinions of our faculty or administration.