When I was younger I used to hear my parents’ generation say thing like “oh you kids, you think you are invincible” whenever we would do something that might not be as safe as another option. Sometimes it was simply not wearing a coat in nasty weather, but other times it was about something serious, like after a teenager was killed in a crash resulting from high speeds and no seatbelts.
So as things always tend to come full circle, I found myself muttering “are these kids crazy, they think they won’t get hit?” when I was driving on 390N yesterday as Olympia let out. A new group of Invincibles decided that it was perfectly safe to cross the expressway instead of taking Maiden Lane. I hit the brakes, along with probably 6 or 7 other vehicles spread across the lanes as they crossed without a care to their safety or to the accidents that could have happened between cars.
I don’t necessarily think that these teens decided to cross in spite of any inherent danger…I think it is likely that the thought of there being any danger never even crossed their minds. They probably crossed the expressway giving themselves congrats on being quick, but trust me, it wasn’t their skill that got them home safe yesterday. Had it been a game of Frogger, where the cars keep coming, they would have been Game Over.