AITA for pulling over and kicking my mom out of the car after she slapped me while I was driving?

A Redditor (21M) shared a heated incident where they kicked their mom (39F) out of the car after she slapped them on the back of the head while they were driving. The slap came during an argument over unclear driving directions, and it caused the Redditor to pull over, fearing for everyone’s safety. While they eventually calmed down and picked her up, tensions remain high, and the mom believes the Redditor overreacted. Now, they’re questioning if they went too far. To read the full story, continue below…

‘ AITA for pulling over and kicking my mom out of the car after she slapped me while I was driving?’

So, earlier today, I (21M) 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. She 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.

Today, she was doing the same thing, and I ended up taking a wrong turn. She got mad and started yelling at me, saying I wasn’t paying attention. I told her, “I can’t read your mind, just tell me where to go.” She didn’t like that and kept going.
Then, out of nowhere, she slapped me 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. I pulled over immediately and told her to get out of the car. I’ll admit, I was angry and 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.

She 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. After about five minutes of her walking, I 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. She thinks I overreacted, and 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?

Here’s what Redditors had to say:

asafeplaceofrest −  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.

A_Pleasant_Nobody −  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.

pixie-ann −  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.

CharmingChaos23 −  NTA. No one deserves to be slapped, especially not when you’re trying to safely operate a vehicle. Your mother’s behaviour was a**sive and could have endangered all of you. It’s understandable that you felt the need to assert your boundaries and safety.

Fancy-Conversation42 −  Hells no! You don’t f**k with the driver unless you want to die. They deserved being kicked out.

4th_chakra −  Then, out of nowhere, she slapped me on the back of my head while I was driving. I pulled over immediately and told her to get out of the car. Mother or not, you don’t hit. And you especially don’t hit the person driving the car you are in. Added to that was your younger brother in the backseat. ALL of you could have gotten into an accident because of her. She thinks I overreacted, and I’m starting to question if I did. She’s g**lighting you.. NTA.

comcham −  She hit t you. Mother or not, you are a grown man. Totally inappropriate and I would think twice about ever driving her anywhere else. At the very least you set the boundary of her never distracting you while driving.

Petalwillow −  Omg NTA at all. What she did was totally unacceptable and could have caused a serious accident. Its one thing to get frustrated but to actually put everyone in the car at risk like that? No way. I get that u felt bad abt ur lil bro being involved but u had to do something. She needs to learn that physical violence is never okay especially when someone is driving a car.

JustShadows −  NTA, who the hell slaps someone when they are driving? I wouldn’t drive your mother anywhere after that and go no contact.

eli_em303 −  Of course not! She put all of your lives in danger.