“Just back up to the car behind you. You can do it. I believe in you,” reads the caption the Instagram account @churchillshi**yparkers posted Sept. 24, for the first time.

Pictured were two examples of cars parked in front of WCHS that left too much room while parallel parking, effectively ruining a perfectly good spot for another driver. Since the account’s first post, the account has grown to almost 200 followers, comprised mainly of juniors and seniors.

“I wanted to start this account because I found it ridiculous how people were parking,” Ted* said.

Parking has always been a concern for students, as drivers struggle to get a parking spot in the WCHS lots. Due to the difficulty of finding a parking space, parallel parking on the streets surrounding WCHS is a popular alternative. However, since parallel parking is not required for the Md. driving test, students don’t need to know how to do it, which in turn creates many instances of bad parking around WCHS.

“Huge gaps make it so fewer cars can fit, which is so frustrating at a school where parking is already an issue,” Ted* said.

The account posts pictures of cars both in the lot and on the streets, and notes the time and date of the bad parking job in the caption. The account has no way of knowing the owners of the cars they post, so many of the people called out on the account stay anonymous.

“The best part of it being anonymous on all fronts is that exposing can occur while still protecting the driver,” senior Emily Feigen said. “It’s quite considerate.”

However, despite the account’s unawareness of the people behind the parking, the drivers are usually discovered when their friends recognize their car in the post and tag them in the comments. Junior Shivani Gandhi was featured on the account after parking slightly on the grass next to the road.

“My friend sent it in as a joke,”Gandhi said. “I really didn’t care though.”

Because she got her license at the beginning of this school year, Gandhi drives herself to school everyday.

“People need to keep in mind that the featured people are new drivers,” Gandhi said.

Aside from the annoyance of bad parking, some have actual concerns about the dangers inexperienced drivers pose to the WCHS community.

“Safety and efficiency is not at its highest level,” Security Team Leader Terry Bell said. “Inexperienced students who attempt to parallel park are at a greater risk to other non-defensive or overly aggressive drivers,”

According to 2018 DMV study, the crash rate for 16-year-olds is 3.7 times higher than drivers of all ages.

The Instagram account has received tons of positive feedback, both by people who have been featured and those who have not.

Junior Daniel Crowley was one of the first to be featured on the account.

According to Crowley, he was “definitely still getting accustomed to his car” and thought that getting featured was funny, thought it did influence the way he parked thereafter.

Junior Danielle Miller found the account pretty soon after it launched and showed it to many of her friends.

“It’s both hilarious and a great way to encourage sensible and responsible parking,” Miller said. “Luckily I get a ride to school, so as of right now, I won’t be featured.”

The account also makes it very accessible and easy for people to contribute.

According to Feigen, she direct messaged a picture she took of the parking job which was then upload almost immediately with a witty caption.

Overall, the instagram page is a hit, gaining more and more followers by the day.

“It’s a genius way to anonymously make parkers more aware,” Crowley said.

*student wished to remain anonymous