To not apologise to the people I braked hard to avoid running over?

[DrSeuss]

I like to think of myself as friendly and well mannered so an incident from earlier this evening has me a bit rattled.
We live down a lane which is only one car wide. Our house is round a bend in the lane. I returned home after dark, rounded the bend at a gentle speed as it is impossible to see what is coming and had to slam on my brakes to avoid eight or so teenagers who were sitting on the ground, just around the bend, on a dark lane, filling most of the width of the lane. Had I been going faster or not been paying attention, I would have hit them. I waited for them to move. As I did so, one made it very clear that I should thank them for moving, saying things such as, "You're welcome."
Thank them for sitting in a dangerous place, nearly being injured then finally having the sense to move? Really?

I'm not surprised you're a bit rattled. The consequences if you'd been going a bit faster, or not paying enough attention, just don't bear thinking about.
Do you know whose teenagers they are? If my son was doing something so incredibly thoughtless and stupid, I'd want to know!

Might be worth tweeting your local constabulary if the idiotic fools are going to make a habit of such stupidity.

Uwnbu, btw.

I would have jumped out of the car and given them a right bollocking for being there in the first place. There has been more than one occasion when I've had a word with local teens and children who were endangering themselves by walking/cycling/ice-skating on the road with no attention whatsoever to traffic. Idiots (them and your teens).

So no, YWNBU not to thank them. They should have been thanking you for driving sensibly and not killing them.

Christ, they're lucky you weren't nuts enough to have a second go - definitely let the parents know if that's an option, or your local police if they make a habit of it. Pillocks.

I am now feeling like being unreasonable and just accelerating next time!

YANBU. They were idiots. However being teenagers they may not have realised they were being idiots. I would've sternly told them why what they were doing was a Very Bad Idea.

annie I don't think a lone person in a dark country lane should approach a group of people. It's not worth the risk.

I hope you are ok OP, it's rather nerve wrecking when you almost run someone over out of that person stupidity.

i'd have given them "you're fucking welcome" ....wee idiots

do you know any of them?

similar happened to me once, summer's day round a blind bend to be confronted with the a band of kids on bikes sprawled out right across the bloody road....all primary age...iirc one with stabilisers

luckily I was not speeding and missed them all

UNLUCKILY for them dh was also in the car, and leapt out and in his best community bobby voice tore them off a strip and reminded them he'd be at school in the morning.

Piper, I didn't say anyone else should. Just that I would. Cos, well, I would. I don't claim to be sensible.

Not surprised you are rattled!! they are idiots! I had similar yesterday where my traffic light wasn't green and some idiot woman with her dog decided to step out and try and run across the road just as I got near to her - it's a big junction so her crossing was about 150 yards from me so she could clearly see that I was there and moving etc . it's a bloody good job my brakes are good or she would have been toast. she had the nerve to yell ate so she got told exactly what a fecking idiot I thought she was and that as my light was green she was the idiot not me