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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Would a little common decency have hurt?

549 replies

Weezapleeza · 22/02/2021 17:10

My nephew lost control of his R/C car and it went into the road. A few seconds later a woman in a Discovery ran right over it but apparently without batting an eyelid. She didn't slow down or stop either before or after. It was like she'd just flattened it in passing. Then the acknowledgement came. A couple of minutes later she pulled up outside the drive, wound down her window, and asked him the most incredible question. "Did you enjoy that?" She was furious, and rude, and he was in tears. That seemed to give her an answer but all she did then was drive off again. No apology, nothing. AIBU to expect better?

OP posts:
LunaHeather · 22/02/2021 20:05

OP "I kind of knew she had a point. I don't think I liked her making it."

This makes no sense.

But following your thought pattern through the thread it looks like you can see you and he were in the wrong.

therealteamdebbie · 22/02/2021 20:08

@PolytheneHam

What a horrible cow!
who? the OP? bit harsh.
Mammyloveswine · 22/02/2021 20:08

12!!! I'm not surprised she was fuming!!!

I lost my shit at two girls aged around 12 who were loitering outside the park-I had my autistic 4 year old walking with me and 2 year old in the pushchair. We got to the road and stopped to cross (saying Izzy whizzy let's get busy..as we always do when waiting for the green man). Anyway the lights hadn't changed yet but one of the girls went close to my son and shouted "run" whilst the other laughed hysterically!

I was LIVID and gave them an absolute bollocking! My child could've ran into the road and been killed because of their absolute stupidity!! Luckily I had his hand but often he just holds onto the pushchair!

He still talks about it now when we cross the road and says "do you remember those naughty girls telling me to run? That was dangerous wasn't it mammy?".

You cannot take chances near roads, your nephew shouldn't have been playing with a remote control car near a road!!

mcclucky · 22/02/2021 20:08

TBH, I think this is your fault, and you're looking for someone else to blame to make yourself feel better. You let a 12-year-old drive a radio-controlled toy into traffic, which could have caused a life-threatening accident. It's not a nice thing to think about and it's natural to try to pass it off as someone else's doing.

It sounds as if the driver was also shaken up, and she thought your nephew ran the toy at her deliberately. I mean, at 12, if he had no obvious learning difficulties, I'm not surprised she thought he had run the toy into the road deliberately.

She could have chosen better words, but it's hard to say the right thing when you're on pure adrenaline because you've just avoided a really horrible situation. So, I don't think she acted badly, no.

As for you, I think you chalk this up to experience. You didn't think your nephew would act the way he did - he did - so next time you buy him a toy to play with of this nature, you need to choose a more appropriate location to play with him with it, and you need to keep a much closer eye on him.

It's really lucky all three of you lived to tell the tale, rattled as you all might be!

Did you see exactly what happened before the car went into the road? Did your nephew lose control or did he send it into the road without thinking about the consequences? Now the dust has settled, if you (or one of his parents) haven't already spoken to him calmly about the incident, it would be worth doing so.

After all, the worst kind of accident is one that no one learns from.

Haveyouallgonequitemad · 22/02/2021 20:09

@JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows yes 5 welldone it's cos of the glue... That's why I can't count maybe should go see a doctor as suggested or maybe mumsnet is just full of evils that would have run Victorian workhouses in a past life..

ChronicallyCurious · 22/02/2021 20:09

At the age of 12 he is not a small child and it’s his own fault.

JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows · 22/02/2021 20:11

[quote Haveyouallgonequitemad]@JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows yes 5 welldone it's cos of the glue... That's why I can't count maybe should go see a doctor as suggested or maybe mumsnet is just full of evils that would have run Victorian workhouses in a past life..[/quote]
OR we just recognise that the boy was at fault, it was probably a shock for the driver and she reacted perfectly reasonable to someone who probably did it all on purpose anyway

sbhydrogen · 22/02/2021 20:14

@UrAWizHarry

A plastic r/c car is not going to damage an actual real car.

Yes, letting it go in the road is not idea but any adult reducing a kid to tears in that way is a prize cunt.

This ^
sbhydrogen · 22/02/2021 20:16

@mcclucky

TBH, I think this is your fault, and you're looking for someone else to blame to make yourself feel better. You let a 12-year-old drive a radio-controlled toy into traffic, which could have caused a life-threatening accident. It's not a nice thing to think about and it's natural to try to pass it off as someone else's doing.

It sounds as if the driver was also shaken up, and she thought your nephew ran the toy at her deliberately. I mean, at 12, if he had no obvious learning difficulties, I'm not surprised she thought he had run the toy into the road deliberately.

She could have chosen better words, but it's hard to say the right thing when you're on pure adrenaline because you've just avoided a really horrible situation. So, I don't think she acted badly, no.

As for you, I think you chalk this up to experience. You didn't think your nephew would act the way he did - he did - so next time you buy him a toy to play with of this nature, you need to choose a more appropriate location to play with him with it, and you need to keep a much closer eye on him.

It's really lucky all three of you lived to tell the tale, rattled as you all might be!

Did you see exactly what happened before the car went into the road? Did your nephew lose control or did he send it into the road without thinking about the consequences? Now the dust has settled, if you (or one of his parents) haven't already spoken to him calmly about the incident, it would be worth doing so.

After all, the worst kind of accident is one that no one learns from.

What am I reading here? "...Choose a more appropriate location to play with him with it" is the only bit that makes sense.
Haveyouallgonequitemad · 22/02/2021 20:17

@JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows nahhh boy was wrong aunt was wrong but woman was much more wrong for being spiteful and that's all I have to say on the matter I know what's right op knows I know and she has my sympathies people Are forgetting #bekind....

Hepsie · 22/02/2021 20:18

There really is some truly unpleasant aggressive people around. I can't work out whether lock down has got to their heads, or whether they are simply a few sandwiches short of a picnic 🤔 🤷‍♀️

Girlonit · 22/02/2021 20:18

I hit a child’s football once. Had just started to stop as I’d actually seen the child about to run out (he didn’t as he noticed me) and I was luckily going less than the 20mph speed limit. But the ball rolled toward me and under the tyre. The child was obviously shook up and no I didn’t make him feel worse, I asked if he was ok and apologised for his ball and said at least no one was hurt. Parents came out and apologised on his behalf, again I said sorry about the ball.

I thought that’s how decent humans behave?

My Dp once got a call following an accident a new (ish) driver had gone into the back of him and the parents phoned to thank him for basically not being a dickhead and actually helping him. It was nice but also quite sad as they sounded so shocked that he’d actually been nice about it. It was a accident, like my Dp said what’s the point being a dick about it?

Shrivelled · 22/02/2021 20:19

Whoever’s fault it was, if someone in a discovery ran over a child’s toy then said “did you enjoy that” to the crying child’s face, most people would instantly think they were a twat.

JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows · 22/02/2021 20:19

[quote Haveyouallgonequitemad]@JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows nahhh boy was wrong aunt was wrong but woman was much more wrong for being spiteful and that's all I have to say on the matter I know what's right op knows I know and she has my sympathies people Are forgetting #bekind....[/quote]
#bekind doesn't apply when people take the piss or put you in danger. She obviously thought he did it on purpose and asked if he enjoyed doing it? What's wrong with that?

You'd hate me. I screamed "you stupid fucking bitch" at a (I'm guessing) 13yo when she played chicken a few years ago by releasing in front of my car on a 30 road and running in front of it so I had to slam on the brakes (it was part of a game local youths were playing and police had issued public warning about it). Never occurred to me to be kind to her 😂😂😂

JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows · 22/02/2021 20:20

*leaping, not releasing

ChronicallyCurious · 22/02/2021 20:20

Also if I saw an almost teenager run a toy car in front of me whilst I was driving I would definitely not be swerving or slamming on, I would run over it too. Hopefully he’s learnt his lesson.

Onjnmoeiejducwoapy · 22/02/2021 20:21

#bekind awww the teenage didums could have killed somebody

JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows · 22/02/2021 20:22

What is with this "crying child's face" nonsense. He was 12 and probably crying out of guilt of his prank going wrong.

mcclucky · 22/02/2021 20:22

@Girlonit

I hit a child’s football once. Had just started to stop as I’d actually seen the child about to run out (he didn’t as he noticed me) and I was luckily going less than the 20mph speed limit. But the ball rolled toward me and under the tyre. The child was obviously shook up and no I didn’t make him feel worse, I asked if he was ok and apologised for his ball and said at least no one was hurt. Parents came out and apologised on his behalf, again I said sorry about the ball.

I thought that’s how decent humans behave?

My Dp once got a call following an accident a new (ish) driver had gone into the back of him and the parents phoned to thank him for basically not being a dickhead and actually helping him. It was nice but also quite sad as they sounded so shocked that he’d actually been nice about it. It was a accident, like my Dp said what’s the point being a dick about it?

It sounds like you spotted the football and the child in good time, so it wasn't a huge shock when you ran over the ball. Yes, your reaction may have been nicer, but when you fall victim to an accident (like the driver here), sometimes the shock reduces you to necessary functions only, such as being able to safely drive the car. I really wouldn't judge anyone who had been in an accident for not remembering to be nice!

This driver, for all we know, adores kids normally. A sudden scare can make you act out of character.

AllFrightOnTheNight · 22/02/2021 20:24

How old is your nephew?
The lady could have handled it better, but he shouldn't (or if he's very young, the adult supervising him shouldn't) have allowed it to get into a road where it could have caused a nasty accident.

EarringsandLipstick · 22/02/2021 20:25

OR we just recognise that the boy was at fault, it was probably a shock for the driver and she reacted perfectly reasonable to someone who probably did it all on purpose anyway

Bloody hell @JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows

Talk about picking on the poor child!

Sure, it's a shock to the driver, doesn't excuse her behaviour either tho.

JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows · 22/02/2021 20:26

I'm sure the boy isn't on MN Confused

EarringsandLipstick · 22/02/2021 20:26

@Girlonit

I hit a child’s football once. Had just started to stop as I’d actually seen the child about to run out (he didn’t as he noticed me) and I was luckily going less than the 20mph speed limit. But the ball rolled toward me and under the tyre. The child was obviously shook up and no I didn’t make him feel worse, I asked if he was ok and apologised for his ball and said at least no one was hurt. Parents came out and apologised on his behalf, again I said sorry about the ball.

I thought that’s how decent humans behave?

My Dp once got a call following an accident a new (ish) driver had gone into the back of him and the parents phoned to thank him for basically not being a dickhead and actually helping him. It was nice but also quite sad as they sounded so shocked that he’d actually been nice about it. It was a accident, like my Dp said what’s the point being a dick about it?

At last! Yes @Girlonit I'm with you. Thought I was shouting into the void for a while there 😀
JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows · 22/02/2021 20:27

@mcclucky yes and it's possible she may have been in an accident before, which will have given her a shock and maybe a nasty flashback

mcclucky · 22/02/2021 20:27

@Shrivelled

Whoever’s fault it was, if someone in a discovery ran over a child’s toy then said “did you enjoy that” to the crying child’s face, most people would instantly think they were a twat.
Sometimes children cry because people are mean to them.

Sometimes they cry because they did a bad thing, they know they did a bad thing and they are unhappy that there were consequences.

Hell, I've seen children cry because they've been over-excited or over-tired - they cry at the drop of a hat sometimes!

If the driver genuinely thought that the child had tried to deliberately cause an accident, her reaction sounds quite restrained, TBH. Hard to say without being there - it's not clear if the OP actually saw the events that ended up with the toy in the road.