‘AITA for kicking my mother out of my car after she yelled and slapped me while I was driving?’

A 21-year-old man shared his story on Reddit after having a heated exchange with his mother.

The Redditor, under the username Vivid-Technician-829, wrote on Reddit’s popular "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) forum, “Earlier today, I was driving my mom (39F) and my little brother (5M) to run some errands. My mom has this habit of not giving clear directions when I’m driving her.”

He explained that his mother “doesn’t say ‘turn left’ or ‘go straight’ —instead, she’ll point or say ‘that way,’ and it always stresses me out because I’m trying to focus on the road.”

Young man explains why he kicked his mother out of car

The original poster (OP) mentioned that his mother also did the same thing again, resulting in him “taking a wrong turn." "She got mad and started yelling at me, saying I wasn’t paying attention," he said.

But when the young man confronted her, the situation escalated and his mother “kept going” and even slapped the man "on the back of my head while I was driving.”

“I got really heated after that because I almost swerved, and it felt completely out of line,” the man noted.

He also mentioned that he immediately asked his mother “to get out of the car” since he was angry.

“Probably raised my voice, but I was mostly focused on the fact that she slapped me while I was driving and put all of us in danger,” the OP stated.

Young man asks if his behavior with his mother was justified

But instead of understanding, the Redditor’s mother allegedly “started yelling even more and said I had no right to kick her out. Then, she took my little brother out of the back seat with her, which made me feel even worse because I didn’t want him to be caught up in all this.”

However, a few minutes later, the man said he calmed down and “drove back to pick them up. The rest of the ride was dead silent, and now I feel like the bad guy. She hasn’t said much since we got home, but I can tell she’s upset.”

The OP asked, “I’m starting to question if I did, but at the same time, I feel like slapping me while I was driving crossed a major line. So, Reddit, AITA?”

Redditors support young man for kicking his mom out of his car

Fellow Redditors, however, did not think the OP overreacted as what the mother did while he was driving was "abusive" and could've "endangered" everyone in the car.

One Redditor commented, “Ex of mine was driving a few years back and his grandmother suddenly grabbed him and yelled at him to look at some goats on the side of the road. He swerved into a ditch, his car was a wreck, he suffered minor injuries but his grandmother broke a hip, had to be airlifted, and spent months in the hospital as a result. What she did was dangerous. NTA.”

Another said, “NTA NTA NTA!!!!! No one should ever disturb the driver unless there's an emergency! And making a wrong turn is not an emergency unless you're heading off a cliff.”

One person asked, “NTA why can’t your mother drive herself? Why can’t she give you the street address before you head out and then you plug it into the GPS/phone to get proper directions? Do you live with your mother? Is this sort of behaviour common for her? She sounds revolting.”

“NTA. No one deserves to be slapped, especially not when you’re trying to safely operate a vehicle. Your mother’s behaviour was abusive and could have endangered all of you. It’s understandable that you felt the need to assert your boundaries and safety,” an individual wrote.

“NTA, who the hell slaps someone when they are driving? I wouldn't drive your mother anywhere after that and go no contact,” another remarked.

One comment read, “NTA. Sorry your mom behaves like a bully with no sense.”

Another user added, “NTA … and well done! No one EVER should interfere with the driver, and forcing her out of the car was a good move. She FA’d and FO’d. Let her know that you’ve done it once and you’ll do it again. And next time, use your GPS.”

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