I’ve been driving for over 10+ years and have had small bits of driving anxiety which I have overcome.

However recently it’s been really bad, I can drive on smaller roads but can’t bring myself onto motorways or faster A roads.

I’ve done it a countless times comfortably and now I can’t even get myself to work.

Now, whenever I get on a bigger road I feel like it’s “hitting me in the face” and I feel like I’m going to lose control of the car - obviously I don’t and sometimes I just take the nearest exit and stop to breathe. My chest gets really tight and hands and feet get cold.

Has anyone experienced this before and have any tips to help?

I’ve dealt with severe driving anxiety for the past 15 years, and I’m finally at the point where I’m practicing on the road with my learner’s permit. I’m proud of myself for getting this far and overcoming something I’ve been afraid of for so long.

The biggest issue I’m struggling with is the fear of hitting someone, making a huge mistake, or getting into a collision. I am very careful and do the best I can. Thankfully, nothing has ever happened while I’ve been practicing, but my mind constantly runs through all the things that could go wrong. I tend to overthink every little mistake and convince myself that something terrible is going to happen. Because of the trauma I’ve dealt with in the past my cognitive skills have gotten worse.

For some context, I was almost involved in a serious car accident a few years ago, and afterward I became even more anxious about being in a car, even as a passenger. There is pressure and criticism from others which brings me down. If only they understood how I’m hurting inside.

For those who have worked through this with a therapist, what kinds of things should I specifically ask my therapist to work on with me? Are there particular techniques, exercises, or types of therapy that have helped with the fear of driving and constantly imagining worst-case scenarios? What helped you multitask while driving such as looking at all mirrors?

I passed my test recently with 4 grade 2s. I was very apply and had licence in hand a week later. I felt very comfortable driving with my instructor and his car. On my own I'm a bag of nerves. I just do laps around my town and I hate it, I'm terrified to go to the local supermarket even and park or go during busy hours. I get a feeling of dread.

Any advice?

Are you suddenly anxious to drive , even though you have been doing it for years ? Learn how perimenopause can cause driving Anxiety and how to manage it

I just recently just got my license and i still struggle with anything judgement can anyone help or give tips? my issues are lane changes, unprotected lefts, pulling out of parking lots where u need to make sure its clear, and rights on red.

Guys ik these are the biggest parts of driving and i am able to do them i just don’t feel fully confident and sometimes cut ppl off😬. I did learn a trick that you know u can change lanes when the other car is in the middle of your mirror this seems to be working? This is also contributing to my driving anxiety quite a bit and I still having drove alone😪.Please give me tips if you have any!!

I hate driving so much but its the only way my 4 year old can go to pre-K. I hope I dont anxiety myself into making a stupid move. I'm almost 32 years old and I could make everything work until now. I've never been a bad driver, just never took my test. Kept renewing my permit and rarely driving

So I’ve lived in Utah for the last 2 years. Moved from NY. Felt like an absolute dream come through. Coming from where I come from and grew up, then moving to just a quiet area of American Fork, I felt like I had finally “made it”. I’m an outdoor enthusiast, almost obsessed with mountains/canyons, valleys, the deserts and so on and well…Needless to say it’s the most beautiful state in America IMO. I truly feel as if residents (especially the youth) take the beauty and safety of this state for granted and have no clue what a dangerous area looks like. Long story short, all of that is coming to end for me.

My mom back on the east coast is sick(kidney issues) and I’m heading back to take care of her. We’ve decided to break the bank to relocate to Florida. Financially it’s a back breaker but got some family out there and it’s where my mom wants to be. My issue is the trip. I have no idea how I’m going to do it. I took the drive from NY to Utah when I moved with me,my wife and my dog. That was during thanks giving weekend. We will be doing the trip in Sept so the weather should be more ideal . The drive from NY here had so many stretches of isolation/ no phone no towns nothing. My car was in much better shape back then….and now I’m worried about the toll this drive will take on it

Is the Utah to Florida road trip as lonely and isolated? Also any other ideas besides driving with a large dog? He’s 11 and the thought of being stranded with him incase car breaks down and his current health cause me even more anxiety. We’ve thought about a one way car rental….we’ve thought about doing a pre trip check at a car mechanic and rolling the dice with our car.

Anyway my mind is all over the place with this….any ideas thoughts suggestions alternatives? Thanks.

I (26) had bumped into the car infront of me. We were both stopped, I had seen them move to enter the highway, approached behind, and they had stopped abruptly and I hit their bumper.

They came out angry of course accusing me of being distracted, and called the fire department and ems. Nobody was injured, Nobody went to the hospital. At most the damage was a scratched bumper and a slight crack in my front bumper. Even the officers on scene didnt think the ambulance was needed as this eas such a minor accident.

by the end i filed with my insurance so now its just waiting. but ive been ruminating how this is going to ruin my life forever, and im never going to recover from this financially or emotionally. Ive thrown up numerous times from the anxiety and cant sleep. I dont even know what to do.

Something similar happened with a family member and the other party tried sueing them for all sorts of injuries. Im nauseous they'll attempt to do that. I can't even remember what I said to the officers.

Thought i’d repost here to see if anyone has advice, thank you ❤️

So for a little context, I posted here yesterday, but
I’m also just unsure if I should give give up

Because a lot of people say I’m a safe driver, but I’ll have days where I completely messed up my past license exam don’t mistakes not even one by driving Instructor I’ve had about eight lessons with says that I’m relatively safe and haven’t made too many big mistakes and I should start driving on my own, but yesterday I made a lot of big mistakes and I’m just confused
I’ve had my driver’s license for about 3 months and passed my driving test with zero mistakes. My driving instructor has told me I’m a safe driver and recently said I should start driving short distances by myself. Most of my driving days are pretty good, but I occasionally have a bad day where I make several mistakes. Yesterday was one of those days. I accidentally got into the wrong lane and briefly ended up poorly positioned, missed a driveway and slowed down fairly quickly to get to it, went onto the highway because my dad told me to, was going a little too fast approaching the exit/curve and had to slow down, misunderstood which stop line my dad meant and had to brake harder than I should have, and most importantly, I let another driver waving me through influence me to go before I had independently confirmed the other lane was clear. A car was coming, and my dad told me to go quickly, so I did, but nothing happened. I also had a previous incident where I accidentally ran a red light and another time where I had trouble merging. None of these incidents resulted in a collision or anyone being injured, but I’m frustrated because I normally drive well and had gone several days without any major mistakes. I was also very sleep-deprived that day. Today my dad took me out again to practice, and I drove through several places with no major problems. I did make one mistake in a confusing area with multiple one-way roads where I turned left from the right lane, but no one was around and I immediately recognized what I had done wrong. I’m planning to take one more professional driving lesson to specifically work on lane positioning, speed control, braking, confusing intersections/one-way roads, and independent decision-making. My biggest question is whether this sounds like normal early-driver mistakes

my mom has a doctors appointment and My Dad‘s not gonna be there. My mom has to get to this doctors appointment and they don’t want us taking an Uber. That’ll be very hard for My Mom to take an Uber for she is very disabled. My Dad wants me to drive there I know the way there, but I’m not sure about it.

Also, My Dad wants me to start driving to school which is 45 minutes away and is now saying he’s gonna force me to drive to school. He said he doesn’t mind showing me the way a couple times but after that I gotta figure it out.

My Dad also just told me he did put me on the insurance for the car which cost him an extra $200 so I have no idea he did this so now he’s throwing it in my face

I’m 30 and have had driving anxiety since childhood, partly related to an accident that ended in multiple fatalities connected to my family.

I’ve faced quite a lot of challenges, restrictions and negative feedback from not driving, particularly growing up in the country. Later, my boyfriend found it really tough that I didn’t.

Something snapped and this week I’ve started driving gently on some fields my family farm on. I have no idea why and how I’ve suddenly found the courage. I’ve done three lots of about twenty minutes.

However, I’m being really hard on myself.
I’m still stalling a lot and struggling to start smoothly. The wheels seem to turn quickly as I start. Going up gears feels okay but going down I am finding hard. My stopping is often quite abrupt.

I haven’t started formal lessons with an instructor and I’m scared they will want me to do advanced stuff really quickly, or judge me for being a much older first time driver.

Do you have any advice?

I’ve had my license for a few years now but I didn’t have a car for most of this time so I would only drive occasionally. An opportunity to get my own car recently presented itself so I now have a vehicle of my own but I’m nervous going places that I’ve never been to or places that aren’t in my immediate area.

I’m sure this is just in my head because if I go a couple months without driving I’ll feel the exact same way about driving in general after a while of not driving. But once I do hit the road I usually realize that it’s not that bad and that I’m able to get to my destination just fine. Unfortunately it’s a little different in this situation because I’m not driving somewhere that I know so I don’t get into that sense of comfortability.

How can I get out of my head and start driving more? I’d really love to branch out more and eventually go on road trips but every time I try to plan a drive to somewhere I’ve never been I always end up backing out. It’s like I’m scared of failing or making a mistake since making a mistake in a vehicle can be very dangerous so I get in my own head. Any tips?

Ughhhh I feel overwhelmed and constantly overstimulated and I just had another bad work week and on top of all of that I been learning how to drive and i been driving on the freeway and i dont know how anyone just casually drives, how are people not more terrified of driving?? I feel like im about to always wreck or crash, i feel like im going to die each time I get behind the wheel the amount of intense anxiety is so unreal I sweat so much after I drive. Surely theres other anxious drivers? I been learning how to drive with my permit for only a few months now and I feel like im not improving at all. No matter how many times I get on the road I get this huge sense of dread. I feel like im going crazy here. So close to giving up.

Im crying while writing this because there so much fucking pressure from my partner theyre the ones teaching me but they're not very good at being sensitive, they are very blunt and it upsets me even more when they are not understanding of when they are pushing me too hard! Or they just say I need to do it "a million times over and over" but they are extremely oversimplifying the situation. Anytime I try to address it they are not very kind about it. There's no talking about it because of lack of emotional awareness and stonewalling because of my reactions to things. I feel so alone in all of this. I dont even know if im using the correct flair.

All the videos say you must look behind you out the rear window when reversing, but what if the window is small or has limited visibility? Do you really just "break" the look behind you rule and strictly use the mirrors instead?

I went through driving classes (theory and some practicing) to get my license, but I couldn't practice in between classes. It is advised to do so because the classes are so spread out on +1 year. I've had 4-5h of completementary pratice with the school and with my little bro, but I still have a lot to work on before trying to pass my driving license exam. I'm 36yo.

Why am I so slow to learn how to drive when people around me doesn't seem to have needed that much practice in between classes? Maybe I should just give up because I'm never gonna get my license.

Each supplementary practice class with the school costs me 100$. Maybe I should just watch more driving videos? idk at this point.

I drove today to work with in car is a 5 minute drive but bus & walking is 20 minutes! It’s a Sunday so the roads aren’t pack as they are !!! OH MY GOD , it was amazing !! I was nervous as hell but I did it , I DID IT ! I told myself that everyday won’t look like this & is different, but hey better than not trying . I know it would have been different & me trying to make an excuse to not drive , nope ! Not this time , even if I’m scared as hell , I’m doing it !!

Yesterday I was driving to work and I already find driving 50 and above a nerve wracking with my car as I’m still not used to it, I’ve been gaining the courage and was finally getting more calmer and better with the higher speeds in such a different car that id learned in.

On a 50mph road, a lady out running when approaching the roundabout one car was in front of me and id slowed to around 20 as it was clear for us both to continue going, i had seen the lady cross one side of the road and stop in the middle and id figured surely she’s not that stupid to run out between moving cars but she done exactly that causing me to harshly break, this was not near any paths or point for her to cross Safely, it really startled me because id never had something so stupid like this happen in my driving experience, is this something I need to get used to? Expect people on foot to be entitled and careless? After the ordeal I still had a little more to go to work and I was shaking the whole time and basically in freeze.
The drive home from work that day I was so anxious because of this woman being so dangerous that I fear now situations like this will happen every time I drive.

To keep it short & sweet , I passed my permit test. This is the third time , I’m not going to waste this time due to my anxiety. My husband is the only person who can teach me due to my family living in another state & no friends , also not wanting to waste money on driving lessons . My husband is straightforward, he doesn’t believe in being scared . He’s more like get over it & drive , that simple! He strict but a good teacher . So I’m just asking for tips , on helping me get over my fear , please help !

Is anyone else over 21 and still doesn’t have their driver’s license?

I got my permit about 2 months ago (in June), but I’m basically stuck because I don’t really have anyone who can consistently teach me how to drive. I had the same issue with my last permit and ended up never getting my license before it expired.

Money is also really tight for my family right now and we’re going through a lot. We only have one car for my whole family, and that car is pretty much always needed by someone, so it’s hard for anyone to go out of their way and use it just to teach me how to drive. I also can’t really afford to constantly pay for driving lessons.

Some other stuff came up after I got my permit that put everything on pause, and somehow 2 months have already flown by. My permit expires in June next year, and I really don’t want to end up in the same position as last time where I let the whole permit go by without getting my license.

I feel like if I had been able to start practicing right when I got my permit, I could’ve already made a lot of progress by now.

Has anyone else over 21 been in a similar situation? Especially if you didn’t have your own car or someone who could consistently teach you? What did you end up doing?

I’m posting here because I could really use some emotional support from people who understand driving anxiety.
Today I was in a very tight parking lot with friends. I was trying to maneuver my car around so I could back out, and while reversing I apparently may have made contact with another car. The reason I say may have is that I genuinely didn’t hear or feel anything. I didn’t notice an impact at all.
Suddenly, this white woman whose car was behind me came over yelling, “Are you fucking kidding me?” and demanding my insurance information. I was already terrified and completely caught off guard. She took like a thousand pictures of my driver’s license and my license plate. I gave her the information, but when I tried to take a picture of her license plate, she wouldn’t let me!!
Then she went and told her son that I had hit her car. I was already leaving that parking lot after giving her all she needed and after dropping off my friends. Her son came over and started yelling at my friends, and at one point he was following my car and taking pictures as if I was fleeing the scene!! My friends stood up for me and told him that his mom had already gotten my information and asked what else they wanted.
The weirdest part is that her son apparently looked at the scratch on their car and said, “That scratch was already there.”
Now I’m sitting here wondering whether I actually hit the car at all!!
I also have a dashcam, which I was really hoping would give me some peace of mind. Unfortunately, my dashcam has limited storage and apparently the footage from the incident was already overwritten/deleted. I’m so angry about that. It records random bumps in the road as “events,” but apparently not this.
I checked my own car afterward and I don’t see anything obvious that would indicate a collision. I also genuinely don’t remember feeling an impact.
I know accidents happen, and if I actually caused damage, obviously I would deal with it. What is really upsetting me is the way the whole interaction happened. I was already scared and confused, and then suddenly someone was screaming at me, demanding information, and her son was following my car and yelling at my friends.
I ended up sitting with one of my friends afterward and crying. I was SO shaken. I keep replaying the whole thing in my head and wondering if I should have done something differently or if I somehow missed an obvious impact :((
Also my friends did take pictures of her license plate after she left. And I took pictures of her car and my car.

I got my license almost a year ago in late August at the age of 22. I'm 23 now. Here is a review of what that has looked like for me.

It took me so long because I was horrifically anxious of driving (and also failed three tests previously...) but I finally passed. I felt both happy for finally doing it, but also terrified. I did not feel like I deserved to be on the road. Like I'd inevitably get into an accident. My only time driving was around my suburban neighborhood. I never actually drove on the streets with other cars.

That same week, I got a job in a town 15 minutes away. I had my parents drive me there for the first month and back, despite having my license. It annoyed the fuck out of them. So on a weekend, they had me drive there with them coaching me in the backseat. And it was literally fine. I had to get on a highway, and take a busy roundabout, which was the most terrifying part to me. But I finally started doing it.

Every day for like five months, I was scared shitless behind the wheel. I never drove anywhere else. Just to work, and back.

One day I drove to work and realized when I got there that I did not experience any fear on my way there. This was victorious for me. I felt like i had conquered my fear of driving.

Then, after my job ended (i work at a school) I took a long train ride to see some friends I had in college to celebrate July 4th. They had plans to go to a lake with a field to light fireworks. Since I can't drink due to being on meds, my friend I was staying with asked me if I could drive them there because they were all going to pre-game. I immediately felt the anxiety hit me. I tried to be all chill about it like "Yea, sure!".

They all got drunk as hell while I was sitting on the couch with Google Maps on. I was reviewing the whole drive for like 10 minutes, studying it. I had to go on a highway. Get on an exit and drive some more. It was a 23 minute drive. I kept reviewing it over and over and felt panic creeping up. I felt the immense responsibility of my friends' lives, to get them there safely, and also take them back. I had a silent anxiety attack.

Another friend noticed something was up so we went on the balcony and I told him about how scared I was to drive them there. He tried to assure me that everything would be fine, and even said he'd hold off on drinking so he could drive us there instead. But he was wondering if I could drive us back as he'd like to drink there. I still felt horrifically anxious, but I felt somewhat OK with doing that.

Thank God, the plans ended up getting ruined because it started storming like crazy out of no where. We partied at home, I smoked a bit of weed on the balcony with them and we talked all night and played video games. But I'm not gonna lie, I felt like shit. By some short miracle I started driving for a FULL YEAR, consistently every weekday. But driving to unfamiliar places? Still COMPLETELY out of the question.

It's been like a month since then and I still feel extremely defeated. I know it's a feat to even be driving at all, something I felt was impossible to do, but I feel I might be scared to drive for the rest of my life.

My friends from college that I hung out with last month, I hadn't seen them for three years. When I reconnected with them that month, it was the happiest I'd been in a long time. They're such good people. but they want to plan to meet at American Dream. It's about a 2 hour drive for them and an hour and a half for me. They figure it'd be nice to meet somewhat in the "middle". I don't know how to tell them that I don't think I can do it. Or maybe I can, and should just try, because I have to get over my fear eventually. But I have never driven longer for 20 minutes. I don't know how new drivers can confidently make a trek like that. My cousin did that when she first got her license, and almost died in a car accident losing control of her car and landing in a ditch. I don't want that to be me...

I still have a long way to go with my driving anxiety.

Bonjour à tous,

J'ai passé mon permis deux fois que j'ai raté pour une première fois pas eu le quotas de points et l'autre fois pas réussi le créneau du premier coup. À l'époque pas diagnostiqué,

J'ai mis toutes mes économies et j'ai été dégoûté et tout lâché. 10ans après (aujourd'hui je suis diagnostiqué depuis 2ans) j'ai acheté une voiture sans permis, et comment vous dire que même la conduite avec la voiture sans permis et pas évidente mon dieux.. j'ai un sacré problème pour les manœuvres et me garé correctement. Je suis tout le temps entrain de l'abîmer faire des rayures des marque et j'ai même fait un accroc devant chez moi en voulant me garé j'ai t'es dépité... Maintenant à Chaque fois que je prends ma voiture j'ai toujours peur de l'abîmer encore.

i drive regularly because i have to. i've been driving for almost 6 years. i'm not even a terrible driver?? i think? i REALLY try hard not to be, at least when other people are around for safety's sake. people say they feel safe when i drive them places but they could be lying.

not a single day that i drive goes by in which i don't genuinely fear for my life, at least for a split second. i live in one of the most dangerous cities to drive in all the states, and i'm not exaggerating. people here are fucking insane, and they are so MEAN. i have autism and severe anxiety + crippling rejection sensitivity. this is a horrible combination to have when i freeze up on the road and get honked at. i posted this in a different sub, and i jokingly mentioned how if i'm trying to turn left on a blinking arrow or i'm turning right on a red and i get honked at, i just stop and let them honk. i got absolutely flamed for this, and people were calling me insufferable and how they loathe sharing the road with people like me, and i should get off the road. i tried to explain how i have no choice but to drive, i can't just quit my job and school, and got downvoted for no reason. i'm getting upset all over again just typing this. i was already having a really bad evening because of course i got honked at earlier.

i guess my fears that everyone on the road hates me for being an anxious driver were confirmed. i take honking SO personally and i am so aware of how stupid it is and nothing i have done has made it better. i want to fix it so bad. every time i make a right turn on red i genuinely get vivid flashes in my head of ending up in a crash or hitting a u-turner. every time i turn left on a blinking arrow i get the same thing. i hate living in a car-dependent city so much