Internet Slams Man Who Refuses to Accept Driving Lessons From Girlfriend: 'Grow Up'

The internet has criticized a man who said in a now-viral post that he refuses to accept driving lessons from his girlfriend.

Posting in Reddit's "Am I The A**hole" forum on Thursday under the username u/throwawaydrivingl7, the 26-year-old man explained that his girlfriend paid for him to take private driving lessons because he doesn't know how to drive.

Already, the post has received more than 8,500 votes and over 4,000 comments.

"I was never taught to drive, and it's not really necessary because I can Uber, take the bus, or my girlfriend can drive," he wrote.

"She's offered before to teach me to drive, but I decline because I'm not really interested in learning because I don't plan on getting a car since they're a lot of money," he continued.

According to an AAA analysis, it costs an average of $9,282/year to own a new vehicle. Registration fees, insurance costs, maintenance costs and fuel costs were all factors in determining the annual cost of new vehicle ownership.

"A lot of these are costs that many drivers probably don't think much about," said John Nielsen, AAA's managing director of Automotive Engineering and Repair. "But they really add up over time."

Of course, annual costs fluctuate depending on a car's make and model. AAA explained that small sedans have the "lowest average annual ownership costs at $7,114," with hybrids coming in second at $7,736.

Conversely, half-ton pickup trucks have an average annual cost of $10,839.

To cut costs, AAA recommended that prospective car owners consider buying "gently-used" vehicles, and get the "shortest loan term [they] can afford."

Despite the fact that he didn't care to learn how to drive, the man's girlfriend shelled out "several hundred dollars" for private driving lessons, which she presented to him as a birthday gift. He, of course, hated the gift.

"I told her again that I don't care for driving and it seemed like a really impersonal gift because I don't even want my license or a car so why would I want this? I felt like she doesn't even know me," he said.

He asked her to get a refund for the lessons and use the money to buy something else, but the lessons were non-refundable.

"So now she's being immature and won't drive me anywhere and tells me I can Uber if I want to go somewhere, even if it's somewhere she was going to go already. Like she went thrifting and to the grocery store without me (we always go together) and said if I really wanted to go that badly, I can Uber," he claimed.

He added that he never asks her for rides. Instead, he "tags along."

"So it's pointless for me to even get a car or license," he argued.

Commenters, however, couldn't disagree more.

"YTA [you're the a**hole]. Read between the lines dude, she's tired of driving you around everywhere," said u/Sugarloaf78. "It's one thing to be unable to drive, it's a whole other thing to just refuse to drive, what's going to happen if there's an emergency?"

"Take a hint and grow up for real," wrote u/Suzette100.

"At the very minimum get your driver's license. You don't have to pay for a car or insurance. So overall it's free and cheap for you since the drivers training is covered," recommended u/Snoo_49175. "What if there's an emergency in the future and you need to drive? What if she has a family emergency and in no condition to drive?"

Redditor u/thirdtryisthecharm added: "YTA. You not driving is putting more work on her. This was her not very graceful attempt to fix that situation. But basically, even if you don't take the driving lessons you need to stop depending on her for rides."