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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Extremely scary moment when driver blocked my car on a country lane.

449 replies

ginplease8383 · 14/08/2017 17:07

I was out driving on the Blackdown hills today with my 1 year old and 3 year old DD trying to find Wellington monument. I know its pretty easy to find being pretty large but I am a bit of an idiot with driving and thought i knew the way (being relatively local) and it turned out I didn't.

Anyway, I went into a country lane and did a U turn to correct myself as I didn't want to U turn on one of the larger roads and as I was coming out onto the more main road another car (a 4X4 with 2 men in it aged mid 50s) also was doing a u turn (or so i thought initially). The driver blocked my exit out of the junction (They could see me drive up to it) as I attempted to turn left and I assumed he was stopping to turn into my lane so I attempted to veer left and drive around him and he blocked me again. I did it again and he did it again.

I didn't want to stop and wind down my window it being the middle of the countryside and that I had 2 young children in the back but he trapped me. In the end i had to and he wound down his window and he said 'I was just going to ask you how to get to xx', I was upset and panicking by then and screamed at him 'How dare you block my path!! Get out of the way!'. My heart was racing and I called dh straight away and gave him a description of the car just in case and set off hime (I didn't go to Wellington monument in the end).

AIBU? I can kind of understand if there was an accident and they needed a first aider but surely i made it perfectly clear i didnt want to stop- I was shitting myself to be honest.

OP posts:
hedgebitch · 14/08/2017 19:06

I can't fathom why you've had a hard time about overreacting - I would find that SO threatening. You can't just block someone repeatedly because you want to ask them something - not on foot and not on the road! Fucking hell.

Original poster
ginplease8383 · 14/08/2017 19:07

Wordsaremything- well words fail me! This is not the sort of place you'd have cattle walking around freely in any event, with a speed limit of 60. He clearly did not have cattle he did this at a cross roads.

Thank you everyone as advised I've reported this to 101 who informed me they've had another report about a similar vehicle in the area today

OP posts:
Buttercunt · 14/08/2017 19:08

I would have been terrified too. Your instincts were likely not wrong here and even if they were, who gives a shit? It's not your job to be polite to anybody, particularly aggressive men.

I don't know if the demographic has changed round here but in two days I've seen excuses for a man that pushed a women into traffic, a woman that smacked a shop assistant hard and now this.

Fuck it, really, what do women have to do to live their lives safely without constantly kowtowing to others feelings.

JigglyTuff · 14/08/2017 19:10

Good for you OP. Ignore the twats. MN is full of them at the moment - people whose sole purpose in life is to tell people on AIBU they're being unreasonable, no matter what.

I really hope the police get to the bottom of it

Saucery · 14/08/2017 19:10

Blimey, OP Shock

Original poster
ginplease8383 · 14/08/2017 19:11

I know! Now I'm really concerned!

OP posts:
Datun · 14/08/2017 19:11

ginplease8383 and everyone else. Trust your instincts.

If the absolute worst you will ever get called is hysterical. So be it.

What's worse?

And maybe, just maybe people will wise up to the fact that they cannot intimidate, be aggressive, and expect a nice, polite response.

JuniUmiZoomi · 14/08/2017 19:11

Good for you for reporting it OP. Sounds really horrible.

Buttercunt · 14/08/2017 19:12

You were a bit of an idiot really O P. If this happened to me I would assume he was blocking the lane for his stock to cross over. Usually dairy cattle but could be sheep at this time of year

There are plenty of sheep around here.

Owlettecatboy · 14/08/2017 19:12

There are some utter twats on this thread. I honestly cannot conceive how anyone could think you over reacted. They were at best extremely aggressive in their approach. At worse, they were planning something sinister.

Saucery · 14/08/2017 19:13

Comfort yourself with the thought you were too fucking scary for them to tackle?

millymae · 14/08/2017 19:13

I would have done exactly as you did OP. Behaviour like you experienced is not normal when people want directions somewhere.

I am convinced that sometimes people just post responses to posts that are deliberately provocative and designed to make the OP look small - I cant believe that any lone driver nowadays would get out and be kindly towards anyone who acted so aggressively.

Just because a post is written under the heading of AIBU doesn't give license to be rude, belittling and unkind.

Jaxhog · 14/08/2017 19:13

This would have scared me too Op. Repeatedly blocking you with their car is not normal driving behaviour. I haven't read the whole thread but if you got their reg number, I would report it to the police.

I got mugged a few years ago (on foot), when I stopped after someone asked me the time. I was grabbed and threatened with a knife. Fortunately, all they wanted was to rob me. Sometimes what 'seems' innocent' isn't. Trust your instincts.

MrsPMT · 14/08/2017 19:14

YANBU, I would have felt the same, very intimidating.

Slimthistime · 14/08/2017 19:16

OP "thank you everyone as advised I've reported this to 101 who informed me they've had another report about a similar vehicle in the area today"

I knew that would be the case. It will be you shouting, quite rightly, that put them off doing whatever was their plan, or possibly they didn't spot the DC initially though that seems unlikely. I live in a not great part of London and women with or as are being targeted, quite violently, because it's considered they won't put up any fight when the attacker wrestles the handbag away.

Keep an eye on the local news. Glad you reported it and glad you are okay.

Slimthistime · 14/08/2017 19:16

*kids

Madbengalmum · 14/08/2017 19:16

OP, YADNBU.
Only today on our local news two men blocked a woman from driving on with their car and waited for her to stop and tried to take her car. This sounds very fishy to me and i dont blame you one bit for being scared.

Datun · 14/08/2017 19:17

I'm still going back to the scenario where they did this to a man. It would never happen.

If that doesn't vehemently illustrate that they were up to no good, or that they were perfectly happy to be aggressive and intimidating, purely on the basis of the OP's sex, I don't know what does.

So yes, call them out for their potential predatory intentions. Or call them out for being cunts to women.

sororitynoise · 14/08/2017 19:17

Sounds like they had more sinister motives but changed their mind when they saw the kids

Vonklump · 14/08/2017 19:19

I was in a work car park a few years ago, OP. It was late and dark. Mine was the only car in the vicinity. As I was getting into my car a bloke approached coming directly to me from the nearest car park. I shrieked, jumped into my car and started to lock the doors. As I did I heard him ask if I had any jump leads.
He sounded nicer than your bloke though, as when he saw the look on my face he put his hands up and said "Don't worry," and backed away.

So if you have issues, OP, so do I. Sounds like aggressive driving, and a lack of thought on his part (at best).

ScissorBow · 14/08/2017 19:21

YABU.

You were confused as to what they were doing and they were less than helpful pulling forwards to clear the junction in a way that looked like they were blocking you in. You got scared and overreacted but yes you were being unreasonable to shout at 2 confused people who wanted directions. You judged their car and them because of their gender and age as probable danger to you and your children. But realistically neither you nor your children were in danger. I think you overreacted because you were het up about being lost.

WindyWednesday · 14/08/2017 19:23

This isn't a country bumpkin Lane, with thatched cottages and random farmers doffing their caps. Fields of hay and pretty wildflowers in the verge a little bridge and a sparkling stream flowing through a chocolate box village.

This is a lonely, long stretch of road that cuts through some very remote landscape, high up in the hills. Surrounded by dark woods.

OP you did the right thing. I will tell my friends who live in that area to look out for a 4x4. They sound sinister. Who needs directions these days, everyone has google maps on their phone. The land is high, so go down for the towns. It's easy. Also this happened at a junction that would have had a signpost. They weren't asking for directions.

Glad you are safe and have reported.

Sugarpiehoneyeye · 14/08/2017 19:26

ginplease8383, you poor love, you must of been terrified. I just wanted to say that I would have felt exactly as you did, especially with your children in the car. Anyway you're safe now, and you did the right thing in informing the Police. Be kind to yourself, you've had a nasty scare.💐

JigglyTuff · 14/08/2017 19:26

If they'd been lost, they would have wound down the window or one of them would have got out. Not blocked the OP's car from exiting the lane three times.

Thank you for proving my previous post about AIBU being full of absolute arsewipes though ScissorBow

Aeroflotgirl · 14/08/2017 19:28

Good, you making noise probably scared them from doing what they were probably thinking of doing. I hear about attacks like this on women. Good on you, probably had a narrow escape. I am shocked about some of the awful replies on here, some real idiots on Mumsnet recently.