Driving Anxiety: Why It Happens and How To Cope

For some people, driving is an adventure. They roll the windows down, put on some tunes and enjoy the freedom of the open road. For others, it’s a means to an end — nothing more than a way to get from point A to point B.

But if you have driving anxiety, driving can be fraught with nerves. It can even be enough to keep you from getting behind the wheel at all.

Clinical psychologist Dawn Potter, PsyD, explains the reasons for driving anxiety and offers advice for coping.

What is driving anxiety?

Driving anxiety describes feelings like intense fear and outsized worries related to driving. It can be situational, like getting nervous about driving on the freeway or over bridges. Or it can be enough to make you not want to drive at all.

Anxiety exists for a reason — in small amounts, it can help keep you safe. So, if you feel a little nervous driving on icy roads or in unfamiliar areas at night, that can be a good thing. A healthy dose of anxiety can keep you from speeding or weaving in and out of traffic.

“Driving inherently comes with some degree of risk. We need to be alert in the vehicle and aware of things that could happen,” Dr. Potter acknowledges. “But there’s a point where an abundance of caution can actually become more dangerous.”

For example, if you’re anxious while driving down the freeway, you may drive much slower than the people around you.

“Other drivers can respond to that by doing unsafe behaviors, like passing you on the right or tailgating you — things that can make you even more anxious,” she adds.

It becomes a vicious cycle: You feel anxious, so you do your best to be extra cautious. When others respond aggressively, it cements your belief that driving is dangerous.

Symptoms and behaviors

Driving anxiety doesn’t always look like one thing or another. It can have effects like:

• Physical symptoms: For some people, driving can trigger a panic attack. For others, it’s not quite so severe, but they may experience similar symptoms. If your heart races, your palms get sweaty or you feel shaky when driving, that’s a good indication that anxiety is taking the wheel.
• Avoidance: Some people with a fear of driving avoid driving altogether. Others may take special precautions to avoid triggering driving situations. “If you feel anxious about driving on certain roads or driving in areas with a lot of foot traffic, you may find yourself taking inefficient routes in order to avoid those situations,” Dr. Potter notes.
• “Checking” behaviors: Driving anxiety can make you hypervigilant on the road, to the point of distraction. You may check your rearview mirror repeatedly to confirm you ran over a pothole, not a possum. That adds up to a lot of time when your eyes aren’t on the road in front of you. “Some people will go home and look up traffic accidents to confirm they didn’t hit anyone unknowingly,” Dr. Potter says.

Causes and triggers

There are many reasons people develop a fear of driving, and it can build over time. But you may be more prone to a fear of driving if you have certain conditions or experiences. That can include:

• Anxiety disorders: Driving anxiety can be one way that other anxiety disorders manifest. That includes conditions like generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
• Health conditions: Some health conditions can make driving risky. For example, if you have debilitating migraines or are prone to losing consciousness, driving could very well be dangerous for you. “It can begin with a very logical fear,” Dr. Potter acknowledges. “But if your condition is well-managed and you continue to experience driving anxiety, your fears may no longer be serving you.”
• Past experiences: Living through a car accident, or even witnessing one, can leave you with some apprehensions about driving. “Even if a person doesn’t meet the clinical criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, an accident can certainly cause fear of driving,” Dr. Potter says. “For some people, that will fade. For others, it may persist.”
• Inexperience: If driving is new to you, it can be especially nerve-wracking. Driving is a big responsibility, after all, and it can take some time to master. But if anxiety keeps you from learning to drive, it could keep you from living your fullest life.

How to overcome driving anxiety

The best way to cope with driving anxiety depends a lot on what’s ... well, driving your anxiety.

“It’s helpful if you can recognize when you tend to have these feelings and why they come up,” Dr. Potter says. “From there, you can work on techniques to help manage your anxiety.”

Here’s what some of those strategies may look like:

• Start small. Rather than just trying to plow through your anxiety, it can help to take incremental steps. If driving anxiety keeps you from driving at all, maybe start with a short trip around the block and work your way up to going farther from home.
• Use the buddy system (temporarily). Bring a trusted person along for the ride who can help talk you down when your anxiety creeps up. Phase it out over time, though. You don’t want to have to rely on always traveling with someone in the passenger seat.
• Make your car a calming space. Use air fresheners with a scent you enjoy, or turn on music that gives you a sense of peace, rather than something like a news station that can add to your anxiety. “You don’t have to play meditative sounds if that’s not your thing,” Dr. Potter advises. “Just whatever makes you feel comfortable.”
• Recognize when to pull over. Your safety is of utmost importance. Recognize if your anxiety is too high to keep going. Pull off into a safe place if you’re unable to concentrate or if you’re driving in an unsafe way.
• Talk to a professional. Mental health support can help you overcome anxiety and phobias related to driving. Medications, talk therapy and exposure therapy can help you get the support you need to take to the road safely and confidently.

Driving anxiety can get in the way of living the life you want. If it’s interfering with things like social interactions, work or school, it may be time to do something about it.

“A mental health professional can help you come up with a plan to systematically overcome anxiety,” Dr. Potter encourages. “They can help you come up with a specific plan for your individual fears.”