Fear of driving

[FearOfDriving]

Does anyone have a fear of driving? I need to learn as although I live in London it makes life very hard not driving. I have a real fear of it though. I keep making up excuses not to learn but really it’s that im utterly terrified of driving and could never actually see myself driving. Anyone else have a fear of driving?

Driving around London is interesting op

i drove in Ireland for 15 years motorways and country roads and all sorts very confidently

i then didn’t really drive for nearly 12 years after moving to London as didn’t need to

got a car a few weeks back and driving around at 20mph is strange it literally feels like we crawl along - but the hazards are mad like people walking out in front of you everywhere, like bikes outta nowhere, drunk/high people stepping out all over the place - also the beeping took ages to get used to - London drivers so impatient and you can’t even delay for a second if the light goes amber - starting to get used to it no though - but it’s a diff style of driving than I’m used to

my husband learned here at 47 and he’s way more confident than me as this is where he learned

I have developed an absolute fear of motorway driving though which I’m working on at the moment - o had a panic attack when I was about to enter a motor way on way home from Kent and had to drive around and back into the services and park up - so I totally understand this fear op

i think you should try though as it’s a great skill to have and you can overcome this fear

i thought I didn’t need a car in London - but now I do it’s great for getting out of town or being able to do a big shop - I can take my kids and their bikes to more interesting parks than my local ones, we can get to the better leisure centres for swimming (our local one sucks)

we got a year pass for the zoo that’s only 25 min drive but not reachable by public transport etc

Mine are teens now and weve managed ok but it would definitely make life easier (my mum never drove so I wasn’t use to it growing up either)

I know what you mean. I learnt when my DCs were young. Try an automatic car first to get your confidence up. If you come across an aggressive driver at stop lights etc blow them a kiss. It will make you feel good and it won't wind them up! When you pass your test a good tip that I have found is always reverse into a parking space, as you don't know when you are going to need to get away quicker. It is also safer.

I think it could be that as you are older you are more aware of the dangers associated with driving whereas younger people are just excited to learn and generally feel quite confident about it

There are instructors who specialise in anxious students. Our DS2 has autism and his instructor specialises in ND learners and anxious learners. My friend had passed and used this instructor specifically to build confidence on her usual routes.
And learning on an automatic. I passed (eventually) on a manual but was so afraid of driving I switched to automatic and it made all the difference.

oh that’s good to know, I didn’t know about that I will look into it thanks

I despaired of finding anyone who would be able to teach DS and this instructor is fantastic. Fear of driving is real, common, and can raise its head even in experienced drivers. My neighbour developed a fear of driving, especially over bridges, after the death of her mum. You are not alone!

Not sure which part of London you are in but I googled lessons for anxious drivers and this popped up as the first result. So, this sort of thing!
https://www.drivethrul.co.uk/nervous-drivers

You're not alone. I've been driving 17yrs and I have never in my life seen such incompetent, inconsiderate and down right idiotic drivers than I have these past two years or so.
I have a 3yr old in the car too so i'm always extra cautious.

All I do (which i hope helps you too) is know I'M a good driver and observe everything around me. You get a 'drivers sense' and just know when someone is a idiot.
The more you do it, the more confident you will become but it will be scary to start with OP. Good luck x

I have as I've got older. I've done advanced driving too.

It's dealing with the excessively bright headlights and bigger cars that I hate.

I live in Ireland and my oldest DS learnt to drive in London and passed but hated driving over there as it’s too busy.

When he and his wife visit us, they hire a car and enjoy a lovely relaxing drive along country roads and quiet dual carriageways along the south coast and he gets his driving confidence back again.

As a previous poster said, you can’t drive above 20 mph in most areas of London now. However it does take concentration due to all of the cyclists, e-bikes, scooters whizzing out from every corner. I just drive very carefully and avoid night driving or motorway driving in bad weather. An automatic is meant to be easier to learn to drive in.

Where I am the drivers are definitely
not driving at 20, so many speeding idiots, but thanks for the comments im
going to look into lessons for anxious people and see if that makes me
feel any safer