n/a - Very nervous driver after accident

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Fri 28 Dec 2012 15:51
n/a - Very nervous driver after accident - Robertgwc

A relative was involved in an accident on the M40 some years ago, and is now very nervous about driving, especially on motorways. Does anyone have experience of a good course to overcome the problem?

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Fri 28 Dec 2012 16:13
n/a - Very nervous driver after accident - Engineer Andy

Best of luck on that - you may be too late for them to change their mind/habits I'm afraid. My mum won't drive on dual carriageways or above nowadays (she never had an accident on them or a major one generally, and used to drive into London to visit my grandparents on the A1/A41 very often) that she's retired (nearly 70), and none of my family can convince her to "get back into the saddle" (even if starting out on empty roads outside of the rush hour with a family member and on familiar roads).

The mother of my sister's childhood friends never drove outside of her home town. For some, it seems like a "regressive state" similar to agorophobia (not that I'm an expert on such things), which appears to get worse as time goes by.

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Fri 28 Dec 2012 16:26
n/a - Very nervous driver after accident - daveyjp
She can still do Pass Plus with an instructor.
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Fri 28 Dec 2012 16:54
n/a - Very nervous driver after accident - jamie745

To be perfectly frank if she doesn't want to drive then she should be left to get on with it. We've got enough problems on the roads without people who don't even want to be there also using them.

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Fri 28 Dec 2012 17:21
n/a - Very nervous driver after accident - injection doc

to be honest, regular driving and on motorways is the only way.

I was involved in a very high speed impact on a motorway 7 years ago & was off work for 18 months + and have never been able to return to work full time and driving on motorways for the first couple of years was very hard and seeing an accident would bring it all back but now i use them all the time but appreciate just how dangerous they are !

Your relative just needs to use them regular to build up their confidence & I dont think lessons would help that senario.

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Fri 28 Dec 2012 23:17
n/a - Very nervous driver after accident - bathtub tom

>> driving on motorways for the first couple of years was very hard and seeing an accident would bring it all back but now i use them all the time but appreciate just how dangerous they are !

I understand that (statistically) they're the safest roads?

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Sat 29 Dec 2012 08:24
n/a - Very nervous driver after accident - RT

>> driving on motorways for the first couple of years was very hard and seeing an accident would bring it all back but now i use them all the time but appreciate just how dangerous they are !

I understand that (statistically) they're the safest roads?

Safety can be measured several ways - one way is to take the annual figure for deaths and serious casualty and divide it by the traffic rate, ie million vehicle miles per year - because of the very high vehicle usage on motorways that comes down to a low figure.

One A-road in Scotland has such low traffic that it's accident rate appears very high.

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Fri 28 Dec 2012 20:44
n/a - Very nervous driver after accident - Chris M

The OP didn't say the relative doesn't want to drive, they're just nervous. Many people are nervous of flying but it doesn't mean they don't want two weeks in Spain in the summer.

The nervousness could be overcome with some expert tuition to build confidence. There are plenty of folk who are not at all nervous, but are absolutely carp drivers - they are the problem.

Edited by Chris M on 28/12/2012 at 20:46

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Sat 29 Dec 2012 22:26
n/a - Very nervous driver after accident - MikeTorque

Much depends on what psychological or physical injuries have occurred as a direct result of a road crash incident. A consultation with your doctor is always advisable.

After a road traffic incident confidence can be regained by driving on quiet roads and then building up slowly to more challenging roads/driving. An accompanying patient driver or instructor can be off help if required.

My wife was pushed off the road by a lorry near a motorway exit whilst driving her car a number of years ago. She was badly shaken up by the event and the car was written off.

Similar to what "injection doc" has said. She slowly got her confidence back by persevering with driving another car and learning more about defensive driving techniques. She's learnt to live and move on from that horrible event but is still wary of Lorries on motorways and duals.

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Sun 30 Dec 2012 00:36
n/a - Very nervous driver after accident - Sofa Spud

I should think 90% of drivers on a given stretch of motorway at any one time don't want to be there - from HGV drivers anxious to get home, White Van Man rushing to his next pick-up, Great Uncle Basil on his way to a funeral of someone he hardly knew etc. etc.

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