To be petrified driving on motorways

Well done @mollyfolk, I hope you have a lovely day.

Well I could. I just dont agree that someone who couldn't face driving on a motorway shouldn't be on the roads at all.

I think its fine to know your limits, drive according to your experience and get a taxi to the hospital in that scenario.

I can't see why someone has to limit the 99% of thier life, where they are competent and succesful, for a 1% eventuality which there are alternative solutions to.

What an odd post.

So if today, you got a call, a relative was in hospital in a town that you could only travel to via motorway, would you and could you, get in the car, put sat nav on and drive on a motorway?
Obviously work & childcare permitting etc, could you drive on a motorway today if need be?

Well, it isn't me that lives 200 miles from a motorway.

but i dont really regularly travel 200 plus miles so i got her point. My work is close, my childens schools are close, my supermarket is close, my friends are mainly local. i can get to many towns and going on a motorway would be a detour not the most direct route, i can get to the seaside without a motorway. I live in an area with lots of motorways and I could still live a full varied life without using them.

Obviously there are other towns and other bits of coast where motorways are needed, but this isn't everyday life for me.

i prefer london by train and most cities to be honest.

I actually I prefer a taxi the airport as by the time we have paid congestion and parking it's not much different. I also think driving very tired is dangerous. But we aren't wealthy so we last went abroad 7 years ago. I'm can't see someone should give up driving because once every 7 years they get a taxi instead of driving to Heathrow as they decide it's not a familiar road and they are tired after a flight.

I mean, people don't do it for the craic, they do it because they're going somewhere 😂 Like a holiday, or a wedding etc.

But where do you go, do you never have a day out, go to a different town? Have to drive to an airport, go on holiday? Do you really never stray from your immediate vicinity?

Do people really spend lots of time driving in areas they don't need to drive, just to prove they can.
I cant fathom driving 200 miles away, when I dont need to, just to prove I could.

We only have your word for it. How can you say you're competent when you only ever drive in the areas you need to? You never stray from those roads?
If you cannot drive on a motorway you cannot drive

I much prefer driving on a motorway. No parked cars, pedestrians, buses or diversions to manage.
I know this doesn't help you though.

Just drive at a reasonable speed, sometimes if I can't be bothered keeping to a speed I deliberately stay behind a slower vehicle. As long as you aren't ridiculously slow - so in the UK the limit is 70 mph ( not km!) I feel anything above 60mm in the inside lane is reasonable. Less if it's raining heavily or snowing.

Do you live in the north of Scotland? I'm trying to think where is so far away from a motorway. Unless you are not in the UK (entirely probable) or my geography is terrible (also entirely possible).

What did all the traffic do that was not allowed on the motorway? Turn back?

my friend used to do this: avoid all motorways as she hated them. Until one day she hit a diversion and it was via the M25. She totally panicked. I then decided I would take her for a motorway run……. She totally freaked and we had to swap on the hard shoulder. In my opinion you should not have a licence if you are not able to drive on the motorway. Go to a specialist instructor for your own and our safety.

Totally agree, planning on a Motorway is paramount. Looking well ahead and planning and being Totally aware of what's happening behind you and to the side of you. Avoid staying in blind spots too long, especially alongside larger vehicles. Leave space around you. If someone fills it, create space again.
Sadly Pass Plus courses can only be taken within the 1st year of passing but nothing to stop an instructor following the syllabus if appropriate

You would be very unreasonable to get on that motorway if you are already in such a panic. Your nervousness makes you a danger to the other road users.

@RaraRachael if you can't drive on a motorway, then no, you can't drive properly. If you don't like to, as I've stated I don't, then no. It's a choice. I'm perfectly capable of doing it and do regularly... as in daily but when I can use an A/B road without much diversion and time then I do.

Being able to drive on basic roads, to a basic standard should be something we can all do. It's not the same as rally driving or off roading which it makes sense for someone with a licence to not competently do.

So I "Can't drive properly" because I won't use motorways?
I drive perfectly competently within the areas I need to. The nearest motorway is 200 miles away. I never need to use it. If I go somewhere further afield I take the train.

I’m the same. I just get a train to go long distances. I’ve avoided them for 42 years so don’t see any point starting now 😂

I would wish more people were anxious, not petrified about motorway driving.
Then it would be safer.

Most accidents happen to motorists near their home! Not on a motorway. More pedestrians are killed in urban areas. Accidents on motorways are fewer. So getting confidence to go on one is important in terms of safety if nothing else. Practice makes perfect.

Have a look at a map and see if you can make the drive on 'A' roads instead. Yes, it may add some time to the journey, but worth it to relieve your anxiety. As I've got older I prefer to avoid the motorway.

Taking to the road when you can't drive properly is risking your own life and the rest of ours.

Wise words @MasterBeth unfortunately the nervous drivers don't see it that way. Everyone else is the problem.

@StrikeForever

I do - it's this lady

carolcsharptherapy.co.uk/contact-carolcsharp.html

I always find this type of anxiety interesting - I know motorways are fast, but they are relatively safe - I have always hated driving on little B roads, especially in poor weather - those are truly dangerous.