Responsible teen takes heat for doing the right thing — read what others wrote about him on social media
An unusual drama is going viral on Reddit as a young man sought advice after friends gave him grief for insisting they fasten their seat belts in the car before he started driving — and over 6,000 people have already reacted to the post.
"Last night, I was getting off work at 11:30 p.m.," wrote the young man, describing himself as 18 years old.
"My two other friends were also leaving as well and asked me if they could get a ride," he wrote on Reddit, describing the two friends as 18-year-old males.
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"I said sure. They all live within 1½ miles from our workplace (a 3-5 minute drive, a 15-20 minute walk), and they both live in separate houses at different ends of town," added "Flaky_Camp_706" on the subreddit known as AITA ("Am I the a--hole?").
The young man went on, "It [was] a pretty chilly night at about 40 degrees and only a few cars are out and about. We all packed into my [car] … I waited to hear all of their seatbelts click, which never came," he added.
"If you don't fasten your seatbelts, I'm not taking you guys anywhere," a young man on Reddit (not pictured) said he told two friends who were in the car with him and who refused to buckle up for the drive. (Cyberguy.com)
So, "I asked if they could fasten their seatbelts," he said, "and they looked at each other with confused glances."
The young man added, "After a solid minute, one of them broke the silence and asked, 'Wait, you're serious?' and … I said ‘Yeah.’"
"I said the obvious reasons: safety and I don't want [any] tickets if we happen to get pulled over."
The Reddit writer went on, "They asked why and I said the obvious reasons: safety and I don't want [any] tickets if we happen to get pulled over."
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Neither of the passengers apparently moved to buckle up.
At that point the young driver said he told them, "If you don't fasten your seatbelts, I'm not taking you guys anywhere."
One person called the Reddit poster "a bloody legend" for taking the position he did, while the top comment earned some 10,000 "upvotes." (iStock)
At that, both young men hassled him — and finally got out of the car.
He said he told them, "Suit yourself."
He left the friends in "chilly weather, on a dark night. With a 20-minute walk home."
The driver apparently then left the friends in "chilly weather, on a dark night. With a 20-minute walk home."
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The young man asked others on the platform, "AITA for not giving my friends a ride if they didn't fasten their seatbelts?"
Fox News Digital reached out to a psychologist for thoughts as others on the platform determined that the young man was definitely not in the wrong for his judgment — with one person calling him a "bloody legend" for his stance and the top comment earning some 10,000 "upvotes."
"Your car, your rules. As ‘friends,’ they should respect your wishes in your vehicle." (iStock)
"They need to understand," wrote the author of this comment, "that if there is ever a crash, and they aren’t seat-belted in, their bodies become instant 100+ pound projectiles flying around the inside of the vehicle. That’s not something I want coming my way."
Another person wrote, "It's a seatbelt, just put it on."
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Wrote another individual, "Good on you, [original poster] … Don't let anyone pressure you into a potentially dangerous situation. Car accidents can come out of nowhere. I've been hit [two times], didn't see them coming either time, and if I hadn't been wearing a seat belt, it would have been a lot worse than it was."
This writer added, "My brother was in a car accident where he wasn't wearing a seat belt. He got ejected from the car and watched it flip over him in the air. He was extremely lucky not to be killed — it's not worth the risk."
"These guys aren’t worth your energy."
Said another person, "Your car, your rules. As ‘friends,’ they should respect your wishes in your vehicle."
Wrote a different commenter, "The law says seatbelts. They wear seatbelts or they walk."
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Yet another person chimed in with, "As a mom, I’m really proud of you."
Noted a different individual, "I wish I could give you a prize for being one of the most responsible 18-year-olds I've come across [in] a long time (and I teach year-12 students)."
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And still another said of the young man's friends, "These guys aren’t worth your energy."
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Maureen Mackey is managing editor of lifestyle for Fox News Digital.
