How to Overcome Fear of Driving After a Car Crash

How to Overcome Fear of Driving After a Car Crash

August 01, 2007 by
Sophie  
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Fear of Driving  |  Car Crash  |  Wheel of Time  |  Overcome  |  Car Accident
Have you been involved in a car accident recently? Has the experience left you so traumatised that you cannot imagine getting behind the wheel of a car again? If that is the case, there are a few things you can do to help you regain your confidence and get you back behind the wheel again.

How to Overcome Fear of Driving After a Car Crash: Blame game

People who have been involved in a car crash will look back and see what took place and how it could easily have cost them their lives. But they can go further with this line of thought and end up blaming themselves for everything that happened. They may start to dissect every aspect of the car crash and wish they had left work 10 minutes later, they had not taken a shortcut home, and as such they do not deserve to drive again. Such thinking can destroy a person's confidence and it is counter productive to think this way. It will not enable a person to get behind the wheel of the car again. It is necessary to assess what went wrong and if you had a part to play in the car crash.

But try not to take it to the extreme of never wanting to drive again. Even if you were partly to blame for the car crash, that does not mean you are a bad driver and that you do not deserve to drive again. Learn from what went wrong and be determined to avoid making the same mistakes again. Many drivers who have been involved in a car crash are able to do just that and move on from the events that took place.

How to Overcome Fear of Driving After a Car Crash: Transportation issues

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Related information
TakeawaysDid You Know
  • Try to avoid the blame game
  • If you do not drive again, you will have to rely more heavily on others; do you want that?
  • Accompanied driving can help you to regain your confidence again
 
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I was hit head on last year. I suffered physical injuries and still healing. I have flashbacks of the accident all the time. I cannot find the strength to drive. I have been seeing a therapist and it is not helping. Please help!
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Posted on 06/05/2009 at 10:06:24 PM

Thanks Sophie! I got in an accident just a week after getting my lisence and it was aweful. I turned left right in front of someone because someone else had waved me through. I totaled my car. I was at fault and still to this day get very nervous behind the wheel. I think this was very helpful since I have been playing a lot of the "blame game" on myself.
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Posted on 11/27/2007 at 6:11:00 PM

Very good article!
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Posted on 09/19/2007 at 8:09:00 AM

This is a fear that I grapple with just about every day. I have to cut across two interstates to get to my job and over time this has taken its toll on me psychologically. I have had one bad accident with an 18-wheeler and on another occasion I was rear-ended by a preoccupied driver in the middle of a traffic jam (no one was moving except for him). However, I realize that I can cause more problems for myself on the road by losing my head, so I am learning to work through my fear. Thanks for this article!
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Posted on 08/12/2007 at 8:08:00 PM

I'm sorry to hear of your car crash, Linda. Sophie
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Posted on 08/10/2007 at 8:08:00 PM

I was in a car crash. School bus ran me off the road, yes it was full of kids. No, I was not at fault. I couldn't drive for weeks. I went into shock. I just had to take a break from driving. Everyone let me be and my husband drove until I was ready again. If I would have been hurt or someone else had been, don't know if I would have ever drove again. As it is, I get the willies when I pass the spot (down the road where I live).
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Posted on 08/10/2007 at 8:08:00 PM

I'm thankful I was never in a crash. I couldn't imagine driving against afterwards.
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Posted on 08/05/2007 at 10:08:00 PM

Wonderful article Sophie. I was in a bad crash in high school as a passenger and developed a fear of driving from it. My parents had to force me to get my liscence. I am thankful they did because who knows if I ever would have done it on my own.
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Posted on 08/03/2007 at 5:08:00 PM

Thanks to everyone for sharing your personal experiences. Sophie
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Posted on 08/03/2007 at 9:08:00 AM

Excellent tips! We were side swiped by a teenager when my kids were younger. My middle daughter still has flashbacks over it and has a fear of accidents.
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Posted on 08/03/2007 at 9:08:00 AM

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