The Carpool Lane: A how-to guide on sharing the road

It’s not every day that you get shoulder-checked when walking down Trousdale Parkway. Imagine getting absolutely bodied by a random stranger en route to your next class — those types of events really stick in your mind and set a pretty poor tone for the day. It causes a bit of a scene, too. People take glances at you, shocked and appalled, on the ground, but no one seems to really do anything or help you up. Regardless, you get up — perhaps a bit winded — get your shit together and carry on with your day. 

Let’s casually escalate this story — say you get hit by a car. A “get up and go about your day” kind of affair goes out the window. Alongside just recovering physically, an unnecessarily absurd amount of paperwork that you need to manage comes your way. Considering finances, the average cost of an injury from a car-related accident in 2020 ranged from $4,700 to $101,000, depending on severity. The road to recovery — both physical and financial — can take months, even years. 

So, from a driver’s perspective, it seems pretty clear that we only lose from hitting someone — and that’s not even considering insurance rates, license suspensions, physical damage to the car and physiological stressors related to driving. That begs the question: Why is it so hard to avoid accidents with folks on the road? Maybe it’s a manifestation of anger and frustration, a severe lack of sleep or an ex tempting you with an unnecessary reunion. 

Whatever the answer may be, as obvious as it sounds, it’s important to be conscientious about those we share the road with. 

In Los Angeles, particularly near USC, there are a number of groups that can really tempt some intrusive thoughts taking hold of the wheel: small wheels (skaters, cyclists, scooterists or whatever they’re called), buses, ride-sharers, pedestrians.

There has been a noticeable increase in bicycling given increasing gas prices and ease in terms of storage and security compared to a car. But despite the presence of bike lanes in certain areas around campus, it’s important to still acknowledge bicycles and other small wheels as equals on the road. If the speed is that much of a bother, simply pass the person when clear — end of discussion. There’s no need to aggressively drive these riders off the road or into a parked car. 

If you are driving behind a bus, merge to get around it. Bus lines are literally designed to have stops, so please don’t whine and scream when it stops in front of you as you’re tailing it. Also know that these buses have their next stop to get to and need to merge back into traffic to make sure everyone gets where they need to go relatively on time. Again, pretty obvious, but show some respect and make space or merge away from a bus leaving a stop.

A personal quarrel I have with ride-sharers is their choice to simply stop in the middle of the road to perform a task. Apart from that, I respect the hustle and the drive to get that bag. In these cases, it may be difficult to execute a pass, especially on the thin residential streets around campus, so this one goes out to the ride-sharers themselves. Quite literally, if there’s any spot that you can pull over to the side, do so — that’s it.

Pedestrians — my favorite. My friends often call me “too empathetic” when it comes to letting people cross the road in front of me prior to turning or leaving a stop sign. However, I believe that this particular group should have a two-way deal with drivers. 

All drivers are ultimately pedestrians prior to taking the wheel, unless the law changed to let newborns drive. Therefore, it seems natural that the experiences of running across the street as the timer runs down or even jaywalking now and then are carried over to the driver’s side — but no. So, it’s a matter of patience and maybe a few choice words, but I’d rather take that than getting hit as an alternative. Also, just as you shouldn’t drive and text, don’t walk and text. If Noah could wait 40 days and 40 nights in his ride before getting off, your Tinder matches or your group chat drama can wait. The L.A. streets are tough to navigate as is; no one needs you to get in the way even more. 

The road is inherently made to be shared. It’s its own form of transportation — no need to gatekeep it.

Get home safe, besties.

Lois Angelo is a senior writing about the perks, downsides and necessities of the commuter lifestyle in his column, “The Carpool Lane.”