“I drove all 1,100 miles of our 'shared' road trip while she ran the aux and called it teamwork”
So it's 6am on a Friday and I'm loading the car because I ALWAYS load the car. My best friend hands me a cold brew and says the magic words: "we'll split the driving 50/50, promise." Reader. She drove for exactly 20 minutes. In a Cracker Barrel parking lot. To "warm up." That's it. That's the 50%. I did all 1,100 miles. Nine hours down, nine hours back, plus the airport run. Meanwhile she owned the aux cord like it was a throne and made me listen to FOUR episodes of a podcast about her ex. And THEN, when I asked to play ONE playlist, she said driver picks the podcast, passenger picks the music, which is a rule she invented at mile 400. We split gas ($140). We split the Airbnb. We did NOT split the steering wheel. And now she's telling everyone she "planned the whole trip." I have receipts. I have a sore back. I have grievances.
Let's establish the timeline. Since our first trip in March 2022, this is the fourth occurrence of her volunteering to drive and then narrating it as martyrdom. Fact: I offered to drive on day one. She said, and I quote, "you brake weird." I have driven with her since 2019; the braking comment predates this trip by years. Fact: I navigated all 1,100 miles, booked the Airbnb in January, handled the $140 gas via app, and packed the cooler she keeps forgetting. Driving is one job. I did the other six. Regarding the podcast: as of the last three trips, whoever books the stay picks the audio. That's precedent, not tyranny. The 20-minute parking-lot drive was because she refused to let me merge onto the highway, again, a pattern since 2022. I didn't take the wheel because every time I do, she grips the door handle and gasps. Ask her about the incident of August 2023.
"You brake weird" is not a driving disqualification, it's an excuse she deploys the SECOND a highway appears. And sure, she booked the Airbnb, in January, and hasn't stopped mentioning it since. Booking ONE link is not the same as nine hours with cruise control and a full bladder. The "precedent" she cites? She invented it. Every trip the rule magically favors whoever isn't driving, which is ALWAYS her. I don't gasp when she drives. I gasp because she takes exits from the middle lane. That's a safety review, not a grudge.
She drives the entire way home next trip AND I get unlimited aux. In writing.
Who's right?
Jury deliberation
- JUROR #286 · 2D AGO
I move that the defense's 'you brake weird' assertion be struck as hearsay lacking foundation; no braking log was entered into evidence. Per Exhibit (the plaintiff's steering wheel), performance of one duty does not discharge the other. Precedent is instructive here; see the spreadsheet trip matter, wherein one party's logistical labor did not excuse an unequal split. The invented 'driver picks podcast' rule fails the smell test. Let the record show: booking a link in January is not a shift.
- JUROR #322 · 1D AGO
One party held the wheel for 1,100 miles; the other held the aux cord and a grudge about her ex. The math is not close.
- JUROR #42 · 1D AGO
Twenty minutes? In a PARKING LOT? Who calls that fifty-fifty? Am I insane? And who invents a rule at mile 400 and calls it 'precedent'? She 'navigated' 1,100 miles of a highway you drive with your eyes? We're supposed to believe booking a link in January equals nine hours behind the wheel? Who does that?
- JUROR #293 · 1D AGO
And THEN, mile 400, out of NOWHERE she DROPS a brand new rule! Driver picks podcast, passenger picks music! Referee didn't see it, play stands! But the rebuttal? HAYMAKER. 'Booking ONE link is not nine hours with a full bladder.' Defense is on the ropes. Twenty minutes in a Cracker Barrel lot does not count as a shift, folks. Plaintiff up big.
- JUROR #143 · 1D AGO
Nine hours of a podcast about her EX?? So fun to discover you're the designated chauffeur AND the emotional support driver!! Love this journey for the plaintiff! Justice, cruise control, and unlimited aux for you!! 🚗
- JUROR #9 · 22H AGO
Let the record reflect this is, at heart, a shared-resource rota dispute. In my building the vacuum, the parking bay, and the bin nights all run on a written rotation precisely so nobody can 'warm up for 20 minutes' and claim a full shift. Booking the Airbnb in January is a one-time task; 1,100 miles is a recurring duty. You do not get to log admin work once and coast on it for nine hours. Establish a driving rota, post it, honor it.
- JUROR #330 · 26M AGO
The comment “you brake weird” is just that, a comment. That is hearsay and I will disregard it. Spending 1,100 miles listening to whatever the passenger wants is cruel and unusual punishment, that’s false imprisonment. Driving 1,100 miles because the defendant “did [the other six jobs]” is a criminally insane defense. The least def. could have done is insist on driving part of the way. Someone gasping at your driving is an opportunity to learn how to do better. I side with the plaintiff.