How to overcome fear of driving? for a beginner, after an accident, video

Fear is one of the basic emotions that arises at the level of instincts. All mammals, and man is also a mammal, experience this feeling.

From an evolutionary point of view, this is a very useful instinct, because if there was no fear, our ancestors would not have known which animal could be dangerous and which could not.

In modern human society, fear has been transformed into new forms, we no longer need to be afraid of every rustle, unless, of course, we are in a dark forest or in a green quarter. Many people experience fear in relation to completely harmless things: communication with others, fear in relation to the opposite sex, fear of heights, and so on. All this makes it very difficult to live a normal life.

The fear of driving a car arises not only among beginners, even experienced drivers experience this feeling, for example, if they get from a small town, where they mainly use their vehicle, to a modern metropolis, which can be difficult for locals to figure out. The psychological trauma associated with driving a car can also cause fear. It is difficult to get back behind the wheel after an accident.

Who is afraid of driving?

First of all, these are newcomers who have recently received rights. Naturally, you don’t need to speak for all beginners, but when you go to the city for the first time without an instructor, you still have excitement:

will I get into an accident;
will I pass the intersection correctly;
Will I be able to slow down in time?
I won’t “kiss” with the bumper of an expensive foreign car when starting up a hill.

There are many, many more experiences like this.

It is traditionally believed that girls experience fear behind the wheel. Modern reality has refuted such suspicions, because many women have time not only to drive according to the rules, but also to do a lot of other things while driving: talking on the phone, fixing their hair and makeup, looking after a child.

Drivers after an accident are also at risk. If for most of these drivers the accident was a lesson that you need to drive more carefully, then others have developed various phobias.

It is worth noting that a person who is afraid of the road gives himself away very much, which cannot but irritate other road users. For example, beginners can delay traffic on the highway when they suddenly slow down or are generally afraid to accelerate.

The reaction of other drivers to such manifestations is always predictable - flashing headlights, signals - all this only makes a person doubt his driving abilities even more.

How to overcome fear of driving? newbie, after an accident, video

How to overcome your fear?

It would seem that you can overcome your fear of driving by various psychological methods, about which a lot has been written. You can find a lot of them on the Internet: “imagine that you are driving in a car, smile, feel that you and the car are one…” and so on. It has long been proven that meditation and self-hypnosis can bring positive results, we will not write about what you need to imagine, especially since meditation is effective only when you are at home, but you need to be extremely collected while driving.

We should not forget that fear itself can affect a person in absolutely different ways: for some, fear is increased attention, the driver understands that he is not insured against anything, and therefore tries to focus on the traffic situation, slow down, move to the side of the road, perhaps even stop and calm down a bit using the same methods of self-hypnosis.

There is also such a category of people who experience phobias, fear for them translates into a purely physical reaction of the body: goosebumps run through the skin, the pupils dilate, cold sweat comes out, the pulse quickens, thoughts get confused. Driving a car in such a state is not something that is impossible, it is simply life-threatening.

A phobia is a psychological disorder that is treated with medication under the close supervision of a psychotherapist. If a person experiences such conditions, then he will simply not be allowed to take exams at the traffic police or he will not pass the mandatory medical examination.

Experts give such recommendations to people who are afraid of driving a car:

beginners definitely need to install the “Beginner driver” sign, it does not give any advantage over other road users, but they will see that there is a beginner in front of them and, perhaps, they will miss somewhere when leaving the main one, and will not react so sharply to possible errors;
if you are afraid of certain sections of the road, then choose detours where there is less heavy traffic;
if you have a trip to another city, then study the route in detail, there are many services for this: Yandex Maps, Google maps, you can download detailed plans for any city in the world, such plans indicate everything, up to road markings, on Yandex.Maps you can view real photos of almost all large cities in Russia and the CIS;
do not succumb to provocations - it's no secret that most drivers break the rules if they know that there are no inspectors in this area, but you strictly follow the traffic rules even if they honk at your back, they say, “move faster” or overtake and flash emergency lights - the truth is in this case on your side.

How to overcome fear of driving? newbie, after an accident, video

But the best way to overcome any phobia is success.

The more you drive, the sooner you will realize that there is nothing to worry about. Even traffic police inspectors, who are often depicted as angry and greedy, are mostly normal people with whom you need to learn how to communicate correctly. If you know by heart the Code of Administrative Offenses and traffic rules, then no traffic cop is afraid of you.

And most importantly - always realistically evaluate your strengths and the technical characteristics of the car. To get used to the car, just sit behind the wheel for half an hour, turn the steering wheel, adjust the mirrors and the seat, change gears.