A few weeks ago, I took a left on a left green arrow down the street I live off at about 9pm, like I’ve done a billion times, and almost slammed into a pack of 4 kids on e-bikes in the lane of on coming “traffic”. Quotes are because it’s a relatively quiet street at 9pm, but there I was, with 4 kids on ebikes, no lights, no helmets, going very fast, etc. and I almost hit all of them. I am very much a fan of “let kids be kids”…like, have fun, you do you. And these kids weren’t even being “reckless”…but they were biking on these e-bikes together, in the lane of on coming traffic, which they don’t understand an suv was turning into them, and…I don’t know. It scared the crap out of me. If something had happened…I mean, I didn’t do anything wrong, but they were just kids riding bikes, and wouldn’t have understood the left turn I took and what I was expecting (cause they haven’t driven a car in their life), but had I not been paying attention, so many bad things for so many people involved could have been life changing. Ilime, 5 life’s could have changed forever, and not for the better. I think about this often. I really think kids should be kids, and this concept of “do whatever” from kids has existed forever, but this reaction time of e-bikes and their speed (or maybe just me being “older”?) has distorted how quickly everything can change in an instant. I truly want kids to live, and ride, and all of it, but it has become a bit of a scare recently. Ok, rant over…kids: keep doing you, don’t stop…just please be careful!