Car insurance news

Anxiety on the roads leads people to give up driving

‘Driving Anxiety Disorder’ is a very real concern for around 10 million car drivers. It would be easy to assume that everyone one else has an easy confidence behind the wheel. This is not the case as many people find certain driving situations so terrifying that they go out of their way to avoid getting in a car. There are reports of some women adding nearly 400 miles a year to their journey because they fear motorway driving. One in five women refuses to use the motorway network entirely.

The RAC Foundation is supporting ‘National Anxiety Disorders Awareness Week’ after discovering that there are many people who find driving extremely daunting. Sources of worry are motorways, busy road networks, for example in London, and bad weather. The awareness week will show drivers that they are not the only one’s who suffer and that their problems in the car can be overcome.

The study by the RAC Foundation shows that the groups most likely to suffer from anxiety on the roads are young female drivers and elderly female drivers. Those least likely to experience any kind of anxiety are male drivers between the ages of 24 and 55.

There are several fears that drivers have. For example tailgating, being overtaken by an HGV, getting lost, driving in bad weather, such as fog, and breaking down on a motorway. Many people are so scared of each particular driving hazard that they give up driving their cars all together.

The problem that anxious drivers have is that they are extremely nervous when driving which is turn leads to potentially dangerous driving behaviour. When a motorist is nervous they are likely to make silly mistakes such as not indicating, getting in the wrong lane at roundabouts and make sudden changes in direction.

There is plenty of help available to people who find the thought of driving a car on a motorway unbearable. Counselling and treatment can put drivers back on the road with new found confidence. Support from an expert in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can be extremely helpful. Go to www.phobics-society.org.uk/fearnot.shtml for more information.

*A replacement car can normally be arranged under one of the following conditions: (1) Comprehensive policyholders – a replacement car may be available under the terms of your insurance policy. Please check your policy details for more information. (2) Non fault accident – where we have the name, car registration number and insurance details of the person who caused the accident, we can supply a replacement car. This is done on a credit hire basis which means the costs for this service will be passed onto the insurance company of the person who caused the accident. We may not be able to arrange a replacement car where we are unable to get an admission of liability from their insurance company, or where the driver is untraceable or uninsured. (3) Repair garage – if your car is booked in for repairs following an accident, the repair garage may be able to provide a replacement car (subject to availability).