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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Skidding Car - friend's husband today "couldn't resist the opportunity"

544 replies

alwaysmovingforwards · 05/11/2022 19:02

Sorry, bit of a long one..

I flew back to the UK today and my friend's husband had kindly agreed to give me a lift home from the airport. Such a lovely gesture - saves me either a hefty taxi bill or 2+hrs on public transport. My friend lives close to me and her husband owns companies on the industrial estates near the airport , so he's always doing that route. I get on really well with both of them and their family, they're all lovely people, seem very happy and lead a very nice lifestyle. It was my friend who made the offer and we arranged a couple of weeks ago, he then followed up on text to say it's no problem just let him flight details etc which I did.

Anyway, we arranged for me to get the airport bus 10mins to the long stay carpark to avoid the airport fees, which makes sense. So I get there and he arrives shortly after. It's a massive carpark and pretty much empty so he pulls up right next to the little shelter thing, we say hi, he gives me a hand putting my bag in the boot and I get in and buckle up. As we pull away I'm saying thank you and was about to ask how everyone is, but he's smiling and says "sorry, just can't resist the opportunity..."

He then accelerates his car really quickly, turns and the whole car starts skidding sideways! The engine sounds incredibly loud and must be revving right up to full power and we're literally sliding on the wet carpark in a big circle, totally terrifying. I don't know if he was in control because the steering wheel was moving around quickly but didn't seem to correlate with the direction of the car. It's one of the most shocking things I've ever experienced and I don't like roller coasters etc.

He then slows, chuckles "just couldn't resist it" again and calmly drives to the barriers, exits smoothly towards the motorway, puts the radio on and then casually starts asking how my trip was.. as if that whole thing didn't happen! I tried to speak on the way home, to be polite and make small talk, but in all honesty I was feeling very ill and my legs were shaky 40mins later when he dropped me off.

Should I tell my friend what an abolosute idiot her husband actually is? On one had I really appreciate the gesture of giving me a lift and value our friendship, but on the other this was an incredibly dangerous and shocking incident she should be aware of.

It's so weird, because up until now I thought he was a really nice guy. But I just can't see him in the same way any more. I know he likes fast cars because she's told me that the stables at their house have been converted into garages and he has various cars in there. I've been in the car with him before and he's been a really good confident driver, very safe and smooth. He's in his early 50s FFS!

To make matters worse, I called my parents when home to say hi after my trip. I spoke to my Dad as even though he's in his 70s, he knows lots about cars and I explained what happened and he sort of laughed and said "well, once every now and again, why not eh..."
Seriously WTF?!?

So AIBU to be so shocked and upset by this? I still feel nauseous now.

Or is there a weird parallel universe I've just discovered where respectable, responsible, grown arse men with kids and wives and businesses, that should know better, see it as perfectly acceptable to be doing skidding and sliding and loud engine revving in their cars?

OP posts:
user1471462115 · 05/11/2022 19:17

I have a severe vertigo, that I don’t tell many people about. He would have been cleaning up vomit had he done that to me,

you are so very much not unreasonable, and I would need 48 hours to recover the ability to stand

HRD2be · 05/11/2022 19:20

He did a donut OP. My husband would have done the same in an empty car park when he had a flash car (not so much now with the diesel people carrier 😂).

YABU and I think his wife would think you were a)weird and b) ungrateful if you confronted her about it

Jellywobblescobbles · 05/11/2022 19:20

He was acting like an idiot. I would have been scared then annoyed. Thankfully you’re ok. I wouldn’t accept another lift though.

Blablablaaaaa · 05/11/2022 19:20

sounds like he just did a doughnut. I had similar as a passenger recently, also unexpected. I felt fine, just embarrassed more then anything as there were a couple of people stood around and the bloke who did the doughnut was 60

fannyfartlet · 05/11/2022 19:20

I do this in the work carpark in winter. It's a bit of fun and no-one is at risk. I would probably let a passenger know first though😂

fluffi · 05/11/2022 19:21

His wife is probably aware he likes to play if he comes across a large empty car park! It’s not like recklessly undertaking on the motorway at 100mph and weaving in and out of the traffic at high speed.

I wouldn’t mention it to the wife, what do you expect to gain from saying anything?

Doing donuts in empty car parks doesn’t make him not “a nice guy” lots of people do it or would it if the opportunity arose and they had the know-how! (I wish I could! )

And agree with PPs re: misleading title! Should read “Scared by donut in empty car park when being given a lift home from airport by a friends husband”

FiveShelties · 05/11/2022 19:21

So how is the creative writing course going?😂

alwaysmovingforwards · 05/11/2022 19:21

The title says "couldn't resist the opportunity" because he said it twice. It really resonated with me because never in my life have I seen an empty car park as an "opportunity" to do something like that!

Sorry, I've just never been skidding in an out of control car before.
But obviously more acceptable than I thought <shrug>

If a moderator wants to change it to "car skidding" or something then fine if people are making their own leaps.

OP posts:
alwaysmovingforwards · 05/11/2022 19:23

Jellywobblescobbles · 05/11/2022 19:20

He was acting like an idiot. I would have been scared then annoyed. Thankfully you’re ok. I wouldn’t accept another lift though.

Thank you, it was a very unexpected experience.

OP posts:
LoobyDop · 05/11/2022 19:23

I used to hate this when 20 year old boys did it. In a middle aged man it’s absolutely pathetic- on a par with those stupid jokes where they pretend to push someone in a pool and “rescue” them. Scaring someone else for shits and giggles is the mark of a twat. There’s no point saying anything to your friend- if she didn’t find that kind of thing funny she probably wouldn’t be with him. I wouldn’t get into his car again, though.

GoldIsMyBirthMetal · 05/11/2022 19:23

I think your Dad’s reaction was appropriate.

user1473878824 · 05/11/2022 19:23

I would have hated it and I would have been furious and said so and then let it go. you’re massively overreacting

GrumpySausage · 05/11/2022 19:23

Ginglymostomatidae · 05/11/2022 19:07

Did you die though?

😁

SpookyMcGhoul · 05/11/2022 19:24

Tbh I think "out of control car" is quite dramatic, just because you saw the wheel moving fast.

It's not the politest thing to do, but to be "shaking" 40 minutes later is very dramatic! Surely if you know him so well you could have just said something along the lines of "oi what was that you idiot"?

Cr3ateAUsername · 05/11/2022 19:24

Gosh how dramatic!!!! He did a donut in the car and you know “can’t look at him the same way” and want to tell his wife?

FirewomanSam · 05/11/2022 19:24

Can’t believe all the YANBUs! How does anyone think this ok?! I would honestly have had to ask him to pull over and get out of the car, I wouldn’t have been able to carry on with the journey. I sometimes get really anxious in cars after a traumatic car crash years ago and something like this would give me a major panic attack. He can do all the donuts he wants on his own, but doing it with a passenger in the car, without warning, is unbelievably shitty.

I do agree that your post didn’t need to be quite so long winded though, not sure we need to know all the backstory about him and his family. But no YADNBU!

alwaysmovingforwards · 05/11/2022 19:25

Moderators, pls change the title if you can.

Not a troll thread, but it's clear the title is causing an unintended stir.

OP posts:
Rockingcloggs · 05/11/2022 19:27

Yes, yes tell his wife and please do let us know what she thinks of her terrible husband who you used to think of as 'a really nice guy' but don't now because he pratted about a bit for a laugh in an empty car park 🙄

CoalCraft · 05/11/2022 19:27

Sounds like fun! I have no idea how to pull off that kind of manoeuvre but I think I'd quite like to experience it.

He was unreasonable not to check you were okay with it but even so you're massively overreacting.

Ginglymostomatidae · 05/11/2022 19:28

Of course the title is causing a stir. It's an insinuation of something untoward - not the truth which is a man executed a donut in an empty car park.

How on earth do you deal with plane turbulence.

neverbeenskiing · 05/11/2022 19:28

It's one of the most shocking things I've ever experienced

Has anyone seen the TV show Am I Being Unreasonable with Daisy Cooper? OP is Viv the cleaner 😂

ChronicOverthinkr · 05/11/2022 19:28

meh, I’d have enjoyed it 🤷🏼‍♀️

TottersBlankly · 05/11/2022 19:29

I spoke to my Dad as even though he's in his 70s, he knows lots about cars

even though” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

And with that, you lost any sympathy I might have dredged up for you …

BankseyVest · 05/11/2022 19:30

I've been known to pull the odd handbrake turn in the snow in an empty roads. You do seem to be a bit dramatic op

Mummieslncorporated · 05/11/2022 19:33

It wasn't out of control though - but I can see why it would have felt that way.

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