Having a friend volunteer to be the designated driver can be a helpful component of a night out. However, if this friend decides to throw planning out the window and start drinking, it can be useful to have a backup plan.
One TikTok user says that when she was in middle school, a friend’s parents told her that if she ever suspected the driver of a car to be under the influence, she should pretend to have to vomit to make them stop the car.
In a video posted by @chickennutbread that has drawn over 6.8 million views, she says she was out for a night with her friends when a friend of a friend suggested they go to the beach and said she was good to drive.
They quickly learned she was not, in fact, good to drive, the TikToker says.
“We’re in the back seat, we’re having the best time,” she says in the video. “We’re singing Nicki Minaj. We’re on the freeway, when all of the sudden she goes, ‘Oh my god, I love this song.’ She cranks it up to 60, 70, 80. We’re going 90 miles an hour at like 1 or 2 a.m. on a San Diego freeway. There wasn’t too many cars, but still, there was cars and there was people in this car.”
@chickennutbread says this caused some concern among her and her friends in the car.
“We all look at each other, and I don’t want to be that girl, I don’t want to be that backseat driver,” she explains. “But I look at her and I go, ‘Ha, Carly, let’s slow down a little bit, let’s like press the brake a little bit, let’s just like tap it in, you know?’ Carly slows down, she’s like, ‘Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry,’ and then the next song comes on, she turns it up and just does the same sh*t. The cycle goes over and over again.”
While she says she hoped that this would be enough to get through to the driver that she was not behaving safely, it ultimately was not. @chickennutbread resorted to faking a need to vomit to get the driver to pull over and let her out of the car.
“In that moment I go, I have to throw up,” she says. “Mark turns around, and he looks at me, and he goes, ‘You’re not going to throw up. No, no, no, not in this car, this is my mom’s car.'”
The TikToker then continues her ploy.
“I’m going to throw up, I’m going to throw up right now, I think I’m going to throw up,” she repeats. “And he goes, ‘Carly, pull the car over,’ and she starts pulling it over to the side of the freeway and I’m like, ‘No, exit. Exit right now.’ She exits, we get out of the car, I fake throwing up in a bush, and then I call an Uber. People are crazy dude. Don’t deal with that.”
She adds, “Carly now has two DUIs, what can I say.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @chickennutbread via TikTok direct message regarding the video.
Several viewers praised the poster for her actions, writing that she likely saved her own life and the life of her friends that night by insisting that she had to vomit.
@chickennutbread ♬ original sound – ProfessionalTikToker
“You saved everyone’s life that night god damn,” one commenter wrote.
“Me, almost 40, hanging on every word, SO proud of you,” another said.
“This is brilliant,” a further user wrote. “I’m sorry that happened to you though. I’ll be teaching this to my son.”
Some offered additional options for folks who end up in the car with people who do not make them feel safe.
“Tbh I would’ve just called 911 in front of the drunk driver & never spoken to them again,” one user shared.
“Also side note if you KNOW ahead of time that your ‘friend’ is hinting at driving HIDE their keys or call a family member idc if you’re embarrassed,” another commented.
“If you have premium AAA and you drove somewhere but are now too drunk to drive back, call for a tow,” a further commenter wrote.