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Fear Of Driving

carWhile there is no Latin term that describes the fear of driving, it is still a powerful phobia that afflicts many members of our population.

Some people refer to fear of driving as Hodophobia, but that translates to “fear of travel.” Whatever it is called, the fear of driving can have a significant impact on a person’s life. It can stop them from pursuing opportunities and from being independent.

Fear of Driving Can Hold You Back

The modern world relies on the use of vehicles for jobs, hobbies, and family activities. Being too frightened of cars to drive can be shaming in the eyes of society. This phobia forces its sufferers to rely on others when they need a ride, or to use public transit even when it is inconvenient. It may affect their choices with regard to living in a certain location, or accepting a certain job. It can make parenthood harder since children often require rides to and from school and other activities.

The fear of driving can be conquered, but it is a powerful phobia. Because there is real risk in driving a car, it can be difficult to dismiss the phobic person’s fears completely.

People who suffer from fear of driving feel intense anxiety about controlling a large machine on public roadways. They fear hurting or killing themselves in an accident, or hurting someone else. For this reason, they may avoid driving lessons and other practical solutions to conquering their fears. People with this phobia simply do not feel that they are up to the challenge of driving on highways, in crowded cities, and even in quiet, rural areas.

Why does it happen?

Fear of driving can come about for different reasons. Some people do not learn to drive at the typical age (during the teen years) for one reason or another. Time passes, and a phobia develops, because they have not learned at the same time as everyone else. They feel daunted by the challenge of driving a car, and they may avoid instruction due to their feelings of inadequacy and doubt.

Some people suffer from this phobia even though they have licenses, and drive regularly. Getting in their car and going somewhere fills them with a sense of dread. They may suffer from panic attacks when they are behind the wheel of a vehicle, which can be dangerous for them and for other drivers. The idea of navigating in congested areas will be one they fear and take pains to avoid. Driving will be viewed as a necessary evil, and their phobia will make them nervous and emotional, and more prone to accidents.

Fear of driving can also surface after a traffic accident. People who have been in car accidents can develop post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the terror and pain suffered in the accident. They may have flashbacks that become worse when they are around automobiles. It is quite understandable that someone who was involved in a car accident develops fear of driving. Sometimes the passing of time, and therapy, can ease these fears, and help the afflicted person return to driving.

Overcoming The Fear Of Driving

Psychotherapy – Since fear of driving is a conditioned response, your brain can be retrained to see things differently. A trained psychologist or psychiatrist can take you through the process of addressing your phobia and teaching your brain to put your fears into perspective. By altering the neural pathways that enhance your fears, a therapist can help resolve your anxiety.

Hypnosis – Some people remain skeptical about the powers of hypnosis, but in can be effective. The more open the person suffering from the phobia is, the more likely they will be to receive a positive result.

Special Driving Instruction – One-on-one instruction with a compassionate, patient driving instructor who understands your fears can really help you overcome your phobia. The more private lessons you have, the more comfortable you will feel behind the wheel. Don’t rush yourself – give yourself time to work through your anxieties.

Do you need to get professional help? Find a Therapist

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24 Comments »

  • Robin said:

    I don’t think I have a fear of driving, but of coming to a stop while driving. My reason is because I was hit from behind by another driver and was injured. Everytime I start to break I check to see if someone is close behind me. It always make me nervous.

  • jim said:

    After my sister’s car accident, I found that I myself was quite apprehensive about driving. Nothing had ever happened to me while driving, but seeing how my sister was harmed by another careless driver made me scared of everyone else on the road. If I have to drive more that 30 miles I usually try to find someone else who needs to go the same way and ask them to drive…I would rather give people gas money then be stressed over a 30 minute drive.

  • Heather said:

    I have been afraid of driving since I was a teen and I still don’t have my driver’s license. I have run into problems, like being reliant on others for a ride and having limited access to jobs, because of this. I am slowly learning to be more comfortable through 1-on-1 lessons. I have had a panic attack on the highway, but I find that an understanding teacher can be calming. Having short lessons and taking small steps beyond my comfort zone has helped me be less nervous and more confident.

  • Laurie said:

    After I was in a bad accident (My fault, didn’t see the other car until too late) I couldn’t physically drive for several weeks. Being a passenger was terrible; I was tense, my heart would race, and I was constantly flinching expecting another terrible impact. I thought this would pass when I was able to drive again but it didn’t. It was about 12 months before I didn’t dread getting into a car. Even today the sound of tire squealing will make be tense up and my heart race.

  • Paul said:

    Unfortunately, the fear of driving is very real to those who suffer from it. To that person, his/her fear is every bit as bad as fear of heights, spiders, etc. The mind is a very powerful thing. I would recommend hypnotism or therapy to overcome it if I was suffering and needed to drive.

  • K. Liz said:

    Coming from a big city filled with horrible drivers, 78+ % without drivers licenses, I was terrified of even trying to learn to drive. I sorta knew how to drive but never got my license because I knew I was going to fail miserably and I’m not good accepting failure. Finally in my 30’s I was alone with small children, a car sitting in the garage for my husband was on a trip and one day I just took the car and drove to my school (about 20 mins) away. I sweated the whole way and my knees were shaking, my whole body was shaking, I had to sit still for 10+ mins until I had strength to walk again. I started doing it more often but still today, I dont use highways for more than 1 hour, I am terrified of high speed limits, other drivers or me dozing off, hitting an animal, crowded highways, traffic. It is very embarrassing having to admit this.

  • Sarah said:

    I have a horrible fear of driving. I start hyperventilating and crying when I’m told I have to drive. I have to work on it though, because there is no public transportation where I live. Until I do conquer my fear, I have to car pool with friends.

  • Barbara said:

    I have anxiety and panic attacks. I really enjoy driving but not alone. If I get very far from home I get very nervous and anxious. I hope one day that I will be able to go anywhere without feeling afraid and uptight.

  • CJ said:

    I’ve had a license for over 25 years. At first, I lived in an east coast city and took the subway everywhere, putting off driving. Then, I moved to a new city. I started out being unable to get down the street to the corner driving by myself. One day, I walked over three miles, examining every lane and every detail of a trip I planned to finally take. The night or two before I was to go, I had nightmares about driving. The night I was to drive the three miles, I couldn’t get out the door because of stomach cramps and bathroom rushes. Finally, I made it,got there and back that night. It was worth it to participate in what I wanted. Over the next ten years, I worked on it, and made slow progress. Recurrent nightmares about having no control of a car, crossing lanes randomly, skidding into busy intersections, brakes not working, etc happen occasionally over twenty years or so. Eventually, I took a job with no bus service and drove back and forth every day. After agonizing, it later turned into a routine. Then, a job required me to drive to an airport, fly, rent a car at a new city, drive on a highway to a hotel, and drive back and forth to the other worksite. Although it tore me up, it was much better for me. Now, with kids, I can’t imagine how I’d get by without being able to get around, and I still can’t get around more than five or ten miles from my home. I dread the day I might have to take a child across a state to see colleges. I don’t know what I’ll do. For now, I love being able to get to the grocery store, doctor’s, library, etc without any anxiety. It is a stage I’d daydreamed about in past years, and hope to one day be able to get on a freeway with ease. Why this has happened? I can only guess. When I was learning, it seemed I constantly made mistakes, and the person teaching me was screaming at the mistakes, and getting real emotional about how close I was to accidents. Every trip I drove I seemed to do something that almost caused an accident, or I was being warned about an accident that would happen if I wasn’t real careful. Then, I’d hear the traffic reports on the radio, and know that I was a worse driver than all the ones in the accidents, which happened every day. I was so scared that I’d kill someone else, or maim them for life. I didn’t think I could live with myself if I ever did that, and that’s what clinched it, probably. I can only thank the heavens above that I can now get around, and to anyone else I can say to never give up hope. You need to get around. You need to do this.

  • Dani said:

    I can completely relate to this article. Sometimes I get really nervous and panicked driving in narrow places, like narrow bridges with no shoulder, or roads that have no shoulder and there are semi-trucks in the right lane. It especially makes it worse when there are cars behind me, because they usually start to tailgate me because they think I am going too slow (which may be the case, because I am trying to be very careful, out of fear) The combination of driving in narrow spaces and being tailgated makes me feel very panicked, and usually there is nothing I can do about it.

    Where I live, (In Oregon), there is only 1 major interstate highway (I-5) There are usually lots and lots of semi-trucks in the right lane, and you are constantly having to go around them in the left lane. So the option of getting over into the right lane is impossible, unless you want to follow a long string of semi-trucks going 50 mph your whole trip. I am forced to be in this situation all the time, and it truly contributes to me choosing to not drive on the freeway much. I can completely relate to this article, and I found it very interesting and inspirational.

  • Aaron said:

    I have a fear of driving. Over the years it has became more and more severe. When I am behind the wheel I feel very anxious and out of control, I lose my whole sense of where I am. It is very scary and stressful.

  • Cass said:

    The fear of driving has impacted my family for the last 10 years. My mother has a fear of driving on the freeway as well as at night which has resulted in myself, brother and father having to drive her many places. But we love her and constantly encourage her to take short trips to overcome this fear which has had a positive impact.

  • Shelley said:

    My fear of driving isn’t actually the act of driving but instead of getting lost. I am afraid I may get lost and never find my way to a place I know. In the US these days there are so many people that do not speak English as a first language so communication is sometimes difficult. I am thankful for my GPS!

  • Lanette said:

    Sometimes I’m just fine driving, but if I get in a lot of traffic on an interstate with more than 3 lanes of traffic I feel very anxious that the cars will try to change lanes without looking and force me to have an accident. Sometimes driving along at 70 mph with cars on each side of me is more than I can handle. I prefer back roads and small highways to the interstate.

  • Barbara said:

    I don’t have a fear of my own driving abilities. My fear focuses on the other drivers, particularly at intersections where I have the right of way. I am always concerned that the other driver will fail to stop. Also hesitate when the light turns green because I have seen so many people run the light.

  • Barbara said:

    My fear is focused on the other drivers. Will thay stop at the stop sign? Will they pull out in front of me after stopping? When my light turns green, I wait a couple of seconds to be sure that no one is going to run the red light.

  • Carlos said:

    I have a fear of driving through the city. This is not a normal phobia but a product of my PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) I’m a combat wounded veteran as I was patroling the streets of Bagdad in my vehicle, we were hit with an IED (improvised explosive device) although I have recover and I do drive through the city, it is a nerve racking experience that I try to avoid as much as I can.

  • Brandon said:

    I have a fear of driving on ice. When I was younger, my parents and I were in two nasty car wrecks because of black ice. Right now I live on the gulf coast primarily due to my fear of driving on ice. We rarely travel in the winter unless my wife drives, which is still quite stressful to me.

  • aduku said:

    this is an informative piece, and the last therapy method i recommend

  • William said:

    I haven’t driven in over 5 months. Soon I will be getting a car again, and I am a little apprehensive about getting back on the road. I will probably avoid stressful city driving and stay close to home until I get back into the swing of things and feel comfortable about driving again. I found this article to be most helpful. Thanks.

  • allen said:

    I don’t have the fear of driving because i am well in driving and i use to follow the traffic rules. And i advise the learners to complete their drivings in secure place and then proceed to main city.

  • jagadesh said:

    I have a fear of driving because when i meet with accident when i was druked at that time due to certain reason i drived the car rashed and i hit the person who suddenly came in my way and i was so tensioned and i dont know what to da at that i took to the hospital he was in serious condition and went to the como stage at once and he was hurt in the leg and also in the head.After that incident i was so frightened to have driving alone i stopped drinking due to that reason and stopped driving to…

  • Christina said:

    My cousin has a fear of driving she tried it once and that was her last time. I think the reason she is so scared is because she thinks she is going to crash and die.She is know almost 30 and still refuses to drive.So she takes the bus or walks she wont even get into a car.

  • Lynn said:

    Once I was terrified of driving on the interstate through a large city. The aggressive behavior and speed of the other drivers, especially large tractor-trailers, and the constant construction frightened me to death. I managed to (mostly) get over it though when I had to detour onto a long, “temporary” section of interstate during a thunderstorm while being passed by everyone. I figured if I could survive that, I could survive driving anywhere.

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See more topics like this in our Travel section! New topics are posted daily as we catalog every kind of phobia known to mankind. Make sure to reference the list of phobias for definitions and terms.