How do you get over being scared to drive after an accident?

[WDWBarb]

OP, I've been there. Time does help, but only time behind the wheel. If you avoid driving (or being in a car altogether), you will only make matters worse.

Your fear is totally justified and reasonable, so please consider talking to a therapist. I wish I had years ago when I was in the same situation. I do drive daily without fear, but I could have gotten over lot faster with help.

I won't tell you my accident story because it's moot to me now - I'm ok, everyone else was ok (no serious injuries), and I haven't had an accident since.

 

[Grog]

I agree with everyone that said "Time". I've been in four wrecks in my life, but the only one that troubled me after was the one where I was the driver. High speed, freeway, guy in front of me gets cut off and slams on his brakes, I was just able to steer around him onto the shoulder taking out one fender on his rear bumper and my other fender on the guard rail.

Four cars were damaged and it was amazed no one was hurt. It took a long time for me to drive past that spot without getting tense and nervous.

One night a good friend of mine was the driver of a minivan that was T-boned, killing two of the five people inside. I was a long time before my friend could drive at night. If he had to go anywhere after dark his wife or a friend would drive.

 

[beaucoup]

How? By driving.

 

[Jedana]

OMG, was the jaywalking pedestrian on Las Vegas Boulevard?

We visited LV just over a week after I was in accident #3. Aside from the initial early morning, relatively traffic-free cruise up the strip, LV Boulevard was sheer torture for me. I have heard they heavily ticket jaywalkers there -- for good reason!

Nope. On Paradise, behind the Hard Rock.
There was a baseball tourney going on at UNLV, and one of the moms decided to jaywalk across Paradise. I was heading up to where the strip club is, and was turning in there (to go to the back side, and turn into the shopping center next door--I worked at the Johnny Rockets there).

 

[discnewbie]

I was in an accident where the person didn't see the stop sign, and/or me, and ran into me (it was a 2 way stop intersection, I did not have a stop sign). My car was totalled. I relived that moment, over and over again. It took forever to get better. Like everyone said, time and practice does wonders. It's been 2 years and I drive like I used to (I would clench the wheel for the first few months after that accident)! I admit, I still avoid the street it happened on, as much as possible -- I've only been on that street a handful of times since.

Give yourself lots of time. And practice driving when you can, even just around the block. Be patient with yourself and eventually it will get better.

 

[castmember19]

I'm sorry, OP. I've been there. I've been in four accidents in the past two years, two major, two minor, but it still stinks. My parents have been in two accidents in the same time frame and it's just scary and I'm still not a hundred percent, I worry about my family and loved ones a lot but I've found that yes, time and driving are all that really help. And even then, I still get nervous when I approach the intersection where I had my very first accident.

I'm just not so fond of driving and I think it's because of the accidents but it's hard to say as the first major one was right before I got my license. I was so excited to drive before that. After that, I had no desire but had to to commute to college. I still prefer for someone else to drive.

Obviously this won't work for everybody, but I've found that the thing that helps me the most is praying about it.