Growing up, I was convinced the game “Red Light, Green Light” was one of those universal childhood experiences. It ranked right up there with tag, hide-and-seek, and the floor is lava.

Then, years later, it took to a much larger stage when the show “Squid Game” took over mainstream media and introduced a version where losing had some pretty big consequences.

So imagine my surprise when I started driving regularly and discovered that, apparently, some people had never actually learned the rules of that game. And some people may have learned them a little too well.

The more I drive, the more convinced I am that there are people out there who think “red light” is merely a polite suggestion.

Now, I know Massachusetts doesn’t exactly have a sparkling reputation for driving. I’ll even admit my speedometer occasionally creeps a little higher than it probably should. Nobody’s perfect.

But there are two things you could bet your mortgage on that I’ll never do.

As a driver, I will never intentionally run a red light.

I cringe every time I see a vehicle go through one when it clearly and safely could have stopped. I cringe even harder when a police officer witnesses a red-light run and decides not to pursue the car.

Running reds has become a serious epidemic on the North Shore, and I see it at least twice a day. It’s starting to get to the point where large box trucks are zooming through them.

I don’t know about you, but I never want to be on the news for killing someone because I decided I was better than a red light.

And as a pedestrian? If cars have a green light, I stay on the sidewalk unless crossing would not impede traffic.

Sure, I’ve jaywalked; I’ve sprinted across the street at random sections trying to get where I need to go. Car coming? Not moving. I will always assume that the person in a vehicle has a place to be, and I’d like to not be added to the list of people calling about hit-and-runs in the police logs.

I can no longer count on my hands how many times a flow of cars will be moving through a green light only for a pedestrian to step into the crosswalk and start moving like they’re invincible to the giant metal death machines trying to go about their business.

I’ve even seen them run to cross as police cruisers come barreling through with sirens blaring (maybe finally going to nab the guy who ran the red).

And yes, the “right-of-way” exists for pedestrians; believe me, I KNOW. But this shouldn’t make them entitled to block an already clogged, slow-moving intersection. At that point, it’s impeding traffic.

Do the little walking man lights mean nothing? Because to all the pedestrians out there, you aren’t the ones who need to be playing “Red Light, Green Light” on the roads. No, we’ll create a new game for you. “Cross, Don’t Cross.” Simple.

Traffic lights only work if everyone follows the rules they set.

Drivers stop at red.

Drivers go on green.

Pedestrians cross when it’s their turn or when it is safe to do so.

We all learned this as kids.

I’d also like to give a quick honorable mention to the people who don’t know how stop signs work. It’s written on the sign. Do better.