How to overcome the fear of driving a car

The car has long ceased to be a luxury item and an indicator of the material well-being of the family, and now, according to polls and approximate estimates of sociologists based on sales data for new and used cars, every third resident of the city owns the car.

However, there is a special category of people for whom the task of getting behind the wheel seems impossible, and leaving at rush hour for food or for work is a sign of true heroism. Such thoughts are usually associated with the fears that have arisen from watching videos of various traffic accidents seen during practical exercises in a driving school for drivers who clearly violate the high-speed mode over a short interval of the road (in other words, “hellish”), or with self-doubt.

Every driver, even an experienced one, goes through such psychological problems. It often happens that many people who have already graduated from a driving school, 2-3 months after an active drive on the roads in their own cars, are simply afraid to leave again, so as not to put their own lives at extra risk, preferring public transportation to the car. To understand how it is possible to overcome the fears of such a plan, you need to understand what thoughts they are formed from.

Causes of Panic

Psychologists identify several reasons for the fear of driving a car, each of which must be analyzed in detail:

• Fear of losing control of the car at some critical moment;
• Fear of falling into a traffic accident both through one's own fault and not;
• As a result, damage to someone else’s car, property, knock down a person, etc .;
• Finally, the fear of endangering loved ones or relatives.

Important: fear should not be confused with panic. The alarmists at the wheel of the car have nothing to do - they talk about this even in a driving school. Feeling fear, a person can control all his emotions and “feel” the situation on the road.

To answer the question of how exactly it is possible to overcome the fear of driving a car, you should focus on each of its types.

Overcoming fear

Fear of losing control of the car is more inherent in beginners, especially girls. This is mainly due to a lack of understanding of the principles of the machine and presenting it as a kind of "beast", which seems to work on its own. Often, such thoughts lead to the feeling that the car is a kind of living organism that acts on its own. To overcome this feeling is quite simple: you just need to practice more, driving on the road at the least busy hours of the day, for example, early in the morning on the weekend. All that is needed to gain a sense of control over the car is a training ground, even if improvised, that will hone your classic driving skills and give you a feel for the reaction of the car to a particular action.

Tip: since practically in any city there is a training ground in the public domain, it is precisely on it that you should fill in the gaps in driving (for example, practice moving away from the hill).

The fear of getting into an accident should subconsciously be present in any driver, and this feeling best plays the role of additional insurance. Feelings of complacency, overconfidence in their abilities appear in drivers who departed a little more than a year and a half and did not fall into any significant troubles. People often argue like this: if they, the newcomers, have traveled so well for so much time, then now it’s possible to drive a little faster and make some kind of maneuver “on the spot”. It was during this period that many people were burned, getting into serious accidents.

It is important to repeat: such fear should not flow into alarmist feelings. If in any unusual situation on the road, you want to sharply pull the steering wheel to the side - a person needs to talk to himself, since such behavior on the road is unacceptable.

Fear of suffering serious material losses is inherent mainly to people who have low earnings, since money was probably saved for a private car for a long period of time, and it is needed not only for everyday needs, but also for some kind of household. This fear is very easy to overcome - you just have to move along the road, observing all the established rules of the road and, especially, speed limits. Its presence is precisely designed to rid the country’s roads of serious accidents that entail serious material losses to the parties: if you move around the city at an average speed of 50 km / h, getting into a major accident through your own fault is quite problematic. Otherwise, the cost of car repair will always be covered by insurance and payments by the guilty party.

Fear of harming loved ones is a completely natural feeling that should also be present in every person. Moreover, its presence is a mute witness that a person behind the wheel is fully aware of the responsibility entrusted to him for the health of relatives, friends and other people sitting in the passenger seats.

Tip: slightly reducing the fear of such a plan can help the purchase of a car with the maximum number of airbags, as well as the request of all persons in the car to buckle up. According to statistics, the number of fastened people who received serious injuries in road accidents, compared with unfastened, tends to a minimum.

Advice from psychologists and experienced drivers

Above, typical fears of newcomers to driving a car were analyzed, which will help the driver psychologically adjust himself to the desired "wave" and calmly control the car in the traffic stream. However, it is no secret to anyone that sometimes critical situations arise on the roadway, when you need to act quickly, relying only on your reaction and even instincts acquired in practical exercises.

The secret, according to psychologists, of a “cold” head, prudence in any, even emergency, situation is to breathe correctly: the driver must always breathe rhythmically, deeply and, importantly, slowly, in no case jerkingly. An effort of will directed at calming the breath will quickly bring the agitated emotional state back to normal.

Tip: when someone flies straight towards, a car cuts off at the side, or some pedestrian decides to quickly cross the road, in no case can you turn the wheel madly, you need to trust in one solution in order to clearly show your intentions to others.

Both psychologists and drivers especially draw the attention of newcomers to the fact that they should always keep both hands on the steering wheel, not close their eyes in fear of one of them, or not show their unique abilities to others by typing a message with one hand.Both hands on the steering wheel, eyes on the road - this is the basis of safe driving.

If a person feels that for some reason he is morally tired, annoyed, etc. - you should calm down, and only then go. The history of accidents knows enough cases when newcomers, saddened by some events, forgetting about all their fears, solve problems quickly, receiving a dose of adrenaline.

Respiratory-muscular autoregulation, which is a complex of simple exercises, can help bring you to life:

1. To begin with, you should sit in the car seat as conveniently as possible, completely “surrendering” to the back of the seat, after which you should take a few deep breaths.
2. After this, it is necessary to relax the muscles, twisting the head in succession in all directions, stretching the hands and turning your hands at the elbow.
3. In conclusion, it is elementary to amuse yourself by wrinkling grimaces in the rearview mirror and remembering pleasant events from life.
4. Going on the road with the understanding that a quick sloppy ride can harm people completely innocent of someone’s personal problems.

It is recommended to use this technique not only to people who want to bring themselves to life, but also to everyone who, for whatever reason, is afraid to get behind the wheel of a car. These simple exercises can provide the necessary feelings of calm and self-confidence.

In conclusion: practice, calm and mindfulness are the three cornerstones of overcoming the fear of driving. Adhering to the theses described, any beginner will be able to bring seemingly complex actions to automatism and get only pleasure from driving.

Video: 10 tips to overcome fear of driving