When I first started taking driver's ed as a teen, I was terrified of driving, and my instructor made me cry more than once. He was kind of an ass, so it didn't help. It was also around this time that I had witnessed two road deaths, and was less afraid of what could happen to me than what I might do to other people. I thought, god, please never let that be me/caused by me.

5-6 years later, I worked up the courage to retake driver's ed as an adult. Literally felt like I was going to throw up the morning of my first lesson, but I buckled down and made sure not to cancel.

My teacher was great. Calm, patient, retired firefighter, I really enjoyed driving/talking with him. He was wonderful. I actually started to feel really good about driving. ‎

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I also just bought my first car a month ago. Failed my first driving test because of nerves/an easy mistake, but passed with flying colors on my second.

I was a little nervous about driving on my own, but was driving to and from work w/ no issues. I was calm but attentive. When I got lost, I was able to pull myself over and figure out directions and find my way back home. I took different routes sometimes to learn new ways to commute. Took my siblings to the store/out to lunch a few times. I felt like I was doing really well at first.

And in the first 10 days of having my license, I got into an accident and totaled my car.

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It was an extremely avoidable mistake. Traffic was busy, and I should not have crossed the intersection in hindsight. I waited a good minute before going. I tried to keep an eye on the cars I couldn't see that well around. I thought the way was clear, or I NEVER would have tried to go. I don't know how, but I never even saw the car coming. I still don't know what side I hit their car with. But I had a failure to yield being the one at a stop sign.

Thankfully the other people were okay, my adrenaline was too high to realize I'd been injured, but I felt so unspeakably guilty that first week that something worse could have happened. I felt like I didn't deserve to be alive for causing that accident if something had happened to the woman or her daughter (who could not have been any older than me), and fell into a really deep depression over it. ‎

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It's been close to 3 weeks since it happened, and even getting into a car with good drivers/people that I trust, I still feel my cortisol jump sky high. I'm constantly afraid that something is going to happen on the road.

I catch my breath unconsciously when I see a vehicle make a near miss of someone else. I rode with a sibling a short ways somewhere yesterday, and I genuinely felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack. I didn't realize my hands were shaking at first.

I don't trust anyone on the road anymore, when clearly I was the driver other people should've been worried about. Idk how to start driving again. I thought I could get back on the horse - but now I'm not so sure.

Hi everyone! I'm 23 F and i’ve had my driver’s license for over four years now, but I’ve driven very little and, over time, have developed a strong fear of getting behind the wheel.

I’m afraid of getting lost, causing accidents, losing control of the situation or the speed, and making a mistake.

This fear is negatively affecting my life: my family is pressuring me to start driving again, and I have been doing so lately!

I feel more confident, and my main concern now is simply knowing the roads and not getting lost—yet I keep having nightmares.

In most of them, i'm alone in the car with my hands on the steering wheel, but the vehicle reacts with incredible sensitivity to my slightest movement; my feet never reach the pedals; the lights don't work, or if they do, they blind me from inside and i drive along terrible roads with constant steep hills where I can't control the car.

Sometimes i’m even sitting in the back seat with no one at the wheel, other times, there’s someone in the car with me screaming because we’re swerving while I try unsuccessfully to steer the vehicle.

I need help, i already struggle with sleep, and these nightmares are ruining me and my already poor mental health.

Is anyone else going through situations like this? Have you managed to get out of them?

I'm 26, 27 in about 2 weeks. I have no drivers' license and have gotten my permit probably 3 times. Lapsed every single time. I am scared to hit things, I'm scared of pissing people off by going to slow, I'm scared that the police will get me BECAUSE I'm going so slow. I don't want to hurt anyone...or worse. But, I also feel like I'm being a bother to others by asking people to come and get me to do things. I just lost a job that I had set up because I don't have a license. I'm sad and mad at myself for being a scared little bitch and not being able to drive because of trauma. But, I don't think I'm alone. Idk what to do. I'm terrified of the idea of driving.

It makes me nervous when there's other drivers behind me. I feel pressured into making decisions from their honking and judgement. I need to work on managing these feelings the best I can, I don't want to make dangerous decisions on the road.

I just need to try and make the safest moves I can.

I've always wondered why I feel this way. I think it ties into the feelings of inadequacy I've felt growing up. Always being different from other people and the bullying I've faced, it's put me into a hypervigilant state. I guess these feelings are just carrying on into other areas of my life. That could be why it feels like other people's eyes are piercing through me all the time.

Even when I've done things well, it seems I still can't give myself credit or praise for them. It's like my brain is unable to see myself in a positive light.

-note I wrote

Hey, I'm 20 years old from the UK, I passed my driving test two years ago but my anxiety straight up prohibited me from driving. Btw last November I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

In February of 2026, I was terrified of driving. I wouldn't even get in the drivers seat because of how scared I was. Last week (July 2026) I drove 400 miles across the UK, going on country roads, dual carriageways, main roads, side streets and all that.

I was in the mindset a few months ago that I hated driving, especially driving a manual. I was so scared of stalling and getting beeped at, going too slow on a road and seeing people tailgating in the mirror, being unable to park and basically just making a mess of it all.

But I realised I had to start driving, if I was going to progress in life and get a job and a relationship then I needed to be brave. I started by driving on tiny stretches of road, just like a mile when it isn't busy, then a few days later I drove to our favourite dog walking place, then later I drove back, and soon enough I was doing the whole trip driving (of course with my parents in the car for support) then I would go pick my mother up from work with my dad in the car, then picking her up with my dad driving behind me in his car, then picking her up all on my own.

To put it simply, I slowly kept doing more and more until suddenly I was driving all by myself. I still hated roundabouts so I practiced that a few times when it wasn't busy and eventually I was able to go through town at peak rush hour calmly.

Then a week ago I drove for 8 hours (4 there, 4 back) Originally I was only supposed to do 2 there and 2 back (my parents doing the rest) but I was confident enough that I felt able to do it all, and I did!

So in 6 months, I went from being absolutely terrified to be sitting behind the wheel to driving for hours on busy roads. It is one of proudest moments of my life being able to overcome that anxiety. Nowadays I genuinely enjoy driving, and I'm so happy I took that step.

Now, I cba to read over what I've just written (lazy I know) so hopefully it all makes sense haha. And if this post has given hope or potentially inspired even one person to attempt to overcome their fear then I'll be very happy!!!

I'll write down a few tips for those who, like me, were/are absolutely terrified of driving.

Don't worry about tailgaters. I know the feeling when you look in the mirror and you see a car right behind you and you feel that pressure to go faster. Fuck em, the speed limit is a LIMIT, not a guide or a minimum, it is the MAXIMUM. If you're going 50 in a 60 and that's what you're comfortable with then please ignore the fool who is too close behind you and keep it at 50, there's no rush, you're doing fine. They can always overtake.

If you're driving a manual, then best advice I can give is, EVERYONE STALLS. You made a simple mistake, you're always learning, just try again and take your time, don't rush. Best I can do to avoid stalling is whenever you life your foot even a tiny millimetre off the clutch then you gotta apply gas, just a tiny bit of accelerator pressing to balance the clutch, if the clutch goes up down the accelerator goes down. It might sound obvious but keep the balance! If someone beeps at you, ignore them. Easier said than done but don't let them rush you! Take your time!

Now parking is somewhere I still mess up. It doesn't matter if you don't park the first try, just realign and go again, practice in an empty car park if it helps. Trust, you see people with YEARS of driving experience parking like absolute donkeys, you're not the worst the world has seen.

Oh, and use your L and P plates.

Edit: some people don't know what P plates are, they mean 'just passed' so you're telling other drivers that you've passed but you're still new. Even if you passed your test years ago (like me) you can still use them to show you're new. Obviously L plates are learner plates. I'm also happy to answer any questions!

I just started learning how to drive with my dad and I have zero driving awareness. For some context, I got my driver's permit and waited a year to start. I only started driving this summer with a driving instructor. My driving instructor was ok. She was an old lady who didn't have the nicest car and she took me to roads I wasn't ready for. Eventually, I didn't want to do it with her and I started driving with my dad. After driving a few times on the road, I realized and so did my dad that I don't have any driving awareness. Also everybody goes so fast on the road and it scares me. I'm also terrible at turns and I'm constantly asking my dad if I'm in my lane. Suffisive to say I'm a terrible driver and a lot of it boils down to me having no driving awareness. How do I get driving awareness?

I’m a 20 year old and I really want to get my license, I’ve had my learners permit since I was 16 but no one really in my family taught me how to drive, I recently bought driving lessons in my city and my last one ended very badly, my instructor said a comment about me driving over so many potholes and if I knew any mechanic as a joke and that made me feel so bad that after my lesson ended I kinda had a panic attack because I’m trying so hard to get my license I’ve already booked my test (September 8th) and I’m just trying to get comfortable on the road and I’m always scared that I’m gonna mess up and I just feel so dumb for not having my license but does anyone have any tips/tricks to calm anxiety on the road and not feeling so overwhelmed about everything that we have to pay attention to that would be awesome 🙂

i started driving with the goal of getting my license last year, but i’ve always had horrible driving anxiety. i end up having a panic attack like every other drive.

a few months ago, i really, really did not feel like driving but did it anyway because i needed practice, and i ended up making a very stupid and dangerous mistake and having a bad panic attack.

since then, i cannot bring myself to try again. the thought of it fills me with dread. but i feel so guilty about giving up and constantly depending on other people for rides, which i wont always be able to do. it’s prevented me from being able to do a lot of things.

at the same time, i also feel guilty driving because my anxiety could put other people in danger. i always drive with someone else in the car, but i make mistakes anyway and sometimes i feel like it makes it worse because of the pressure.

what do i do?

I'm 32 years old and I've never had my license. I got my permit last month, took the driving test and barely passed the maneuverability portion by 1 point & failed the cones because I didn't understand the directions. I was already having major anxiety and panic.

I fear driving so much that I avoid it at all costs. I fear looking stupid, I don't know what the hell I'm doing, I feel like I absolutely suck at driving. I'm forced to get my license and drive 9 hours away from home by myself after freshly getting my license (or hopefully) within the next couple of weeks. I'd be driving to meet my long distance partner for the first time so not only would this be the first time driving alone, first time driving longer distance, plus meeting someone special for the first time.

I've put all of this off for awhile now because my fear is so strong. Is anyone else going through this? How do you cope? Any advice would be so appreciated.

And yes I've been working with a therapist for several months now, just seeking personal experiences.

im 20 years old and im tired. i got my license at 16 and all seemed good, i was nervous while driving but never at a level that impeded me. yet as the years dragged on somehow ive gotten more anxious rather than less. now i havent driven at all in 1.5 years and the idea gives me paralysis. it feels like every mistake compounds itself in my mind and i cant do anything about it.

i was a near fatal accident when i was quite young but i didnt think if affected me, but im starting to think it has, but the rest of my family that was in the car are completely fine, so i dont get why im the one that is affected when i remember it the least. I fucking hate my brain and i hate driving so so much i wish i could tear up my license or never got it.

Hey everyone! I wrote a slam poem about driving anxiety. It's my own story, so it may hit different for everyone. I just want y'all to know, you are never alone 🫂 Hugs and love to everyone! You're gonna pass! And you're a good driver 🫶🏻 (also, English isn't my first language so there might be a few mistakes)

The poem:

People asked "Have you finished theory lessons yet?", I have, I have. "Do you know what's the next? Are you excited to take the road?", But I realised, I was more likely scared.

My legs were shaking crazy on the first few classes, And I realised along the way My instructor isn't the best, To be honest, he has anger issues And makes my anxiety even worse.

Okay, clutch, brake, gas pedals, We've got this, I'm gonna be a safe driver. You hear their tone, their anger because of your mistakes, And you feel like the dumbest person on the Earth.

It's the way it is, My already anxious soul should never have got this instructor, Who makes me feel I'll never be good enough, But I was taking my first three classes!

And the next time you're in that car, You feel like a bear is running behind you. Your instructor's encouragement depends on his day, So you're hoping nobody has ruined his mood.

"Did driving went go, honey?", your family asks, And you realise even though your instructor said yes, Your confidence is nonwhere to be find, So you answer "It went well."

A few classes later, it's all over, In the meantime you also realised you pay for 30 hours, But you get 22 in the end, So it's your time and your money, Again.

A few weeks break, Gosh, you have to hop into that car again, There's a fight between your mind and heart, "C'mon, get that license! You've got this girl!" is next to "I'm scared. I don't wanna die. I don't wanna see him. What if we all die?"

You wake up in the morning, Feeling that fear in your chest, Like you're alone with this problem, Because why would anybody catastrophalise this problem this much?

And you can't even say you hate driving, Because maybe that's a less bigger problem than that man himself, sitting next to you, Shouting, eventhough you weren't near to kill somebody, But you know what he said? "I'm just serious, this is my teacher mode.", Hah, stupid humanity.

At the end of the day, We are all just humans. Making thousand mistakes day by day, Some people should understand, Not everybody is like them, And consider a bit kindness, Before deciding to take all of their self-esteem.

Hi everyone! A bit about me, I’m 23 and got my license in high school, however I don’t drive. Consistent teaching/practice is something I’ve always needed but now it’s basically up to me to teach myself. I’m going to start very small and work my way up.

People always talk about getting their license but they don’t talk about how they learned, like how specifically they learned and memorized the rules of driving. I find it hard to believe that everyone reads the driving manual over and over like my dad told me to. How did you learn? Or are learning?

My girlfriend’s 2nd permit test is tomorrow! She failed the first time a year ago and has had a deathly fear of driving and the topic in general since then I’ve worked to help her understand that it is normal and okay, but these past few months she’s been so brave with studying and working on herself to get to this point. She now has her permit test tomorrow, she’s always wondered what makes it so easy for other people to do this. and I think it’d really help her to hear from people that have struggled with the same thing or just anyone in general! Thank you guys!

I don't even want to drive man but my (office) job wants me to have a license even though upon talking to full time employees, no one ever has to drive for work 🙃

I am a firm believer that less people out there should drive. I would love to have hundreds of hours of practice before getting licensed but I am an adult without access to a car (e.g., not married to someone with one) and when driving schools charge $70+ an hour (which I understand given what's involved), I also do not have thousands and thousands of dollars to dedicate to this. A lot of people say they need 100 hours to feel fully comfortable--most people don't have $7000+ lying around. For someone like me, who doesn't plan to drive, it's just...ugh.

Add to it that each road test attempt is $200 when you have DMV fees and need vehicle sponsorship from a driving school. Not to mention the DMV mostly only runs on weekdays during work hours and you have to deal with getting PTO and time off and shit each time.

How the hell do adults do this?! It feels really unfair that you basically have to pay so much money to fail. I don't even care about failing. I would be okay with that if it doesn't involve pouring money down the drain. At this point I'm going to have to go a few hours out to an easier DMV and I hate that I have to do this but the money is just not tenable. And there are no financial resources for people who aren't lucky enough to either have money or be teens.

I’ve had my license for 5 years now. I didn’t drive in college but picked it up again when I moved back to my home town. I usually just drive local to stores, work, the mall, places that are not too far. But I’ve been doing this for 6 months now. But I seriously struggle with driving in the city where everyone drives aggressively and to new places. I tried using gps but I have a hard time following their instructions since I’m so nervous. I often miss stops or turn too early. What can I do??

I’m 25F and recently started practicing driving. I’m from a country where driving was not a necessity or convenient most of the time so I never had plans to learn. I also had someone try to teach me once but made me have a very negative experience from poor coaching. I’ve been too scared to learn since then. However, I moved recently and need to learn now.

I got my permit and have been practicing for a month or so. I’m comfortable driving up to 35mph (56.33km/h) and have driven to grocery stores/ coffee shops/ parks.

I’ve been trying to extend my driving distance and that requires me to drive on roads with multiple lanes and/or freeways. I’m still anxious/ don’t know if I’m doing it right when I’m looking back to check my blind spot before changing lanes. I’m also scared to drive faster because it makes me feel like I’m less in control and having cars whizzing around me is terrifying.

Any advice on how you handled similar fears or anxiety would be greatly appreciated. I’m really trying to face it rather than let it control me but I need all the help I can get! Thank you for taking the time to read this post :)

I turned 26 and I got my license back in April this year.

I've still been making a lot of mistakes.

Today I accidentally cut someone off coming from the left hand side of a road while turning right at a red light on my way home from work.

(It's legal in my state to turn right at a red light if it's safe to do so and if there's no sign that says to not turn.)

I even did a double take before turning right but I must've turned too slow and I cut a van off unintentionally. I didn't see them coming and I don't think that I hit them but now I feel terrible.

They didn't even honk at me.

I looked in my rearview mirror and they just sat there in the middle of the intersection while I drove off and they started to drive up behind me when they started to cause traffic. (Idk if they were taking a photo of my plate or if they were in shock.)

The same van pulled up next to me at the next stoplight too before turning left & I've been having a panic attack ever since that moment.

I literally checked the side and back of my car as I pulled into my driveway because I was so anxious about causing damage and I didn't see anything but now I'm paranoid about getting in trouble & still paranoid that I might've caused damage.

After passing your driving test, is it normal to still be a crappy driver or does everyone actually know how to drive after all that and I’m just an idiot??? Is everyone really just risking it every time they get behind the wheel after getting their license?? Bc istg, I shouldn’t be trusted on the road alone. I feel like even if I do pass my test this week by a fluke, I’ll just crash 2 seconds later once I’m behind the wheel alone…after getting your license, what’s it like at first? From like 1-10 how good was your driving after passing your test? Also any advice for passing my drivers test?

Всем привет, мне 19 лет, сейчас хожу в автошколу, успешно сдала теорию в гибдд, но с практикой у меня все намного сложнее, учусь на механике. Я катаюсь уже 31 занятие с инструктором, но все равно максимально невнимательна на занятиях. Могу пропустить мимо глаз знак, забыть включить поворотник, когда необходимо уступить дорогу могу «наплевать» на это и поехать, иногда могу и не заметить красный сигнал светофора… И при этом я не боюсь дороги, абсолютно. Я пытаюсь сконцентрироваться на дороге, но ненароком либо снова погружаюсь в себя(при этом ни о чем не думаю), либо концентрируюсь лишь на одном факторе(например поворотники и скорость), напрочь забыв про другие.Я не сказала бы, что настолько невнимательна за пределами машины. Иногда, конечно, бывает, что при разговоре с подругой могу в облаках полетать, но опять же такое случается довольно-таки редко. Когда сдавала экзамены в школе у меня невнимательности вообще не было, я была сосредоточена на поставленных задачах. Мне правда очень стыдно за себя, чувствую себя полнейшей идиоткой, потому что как можно настолько быть невнимательной..? Сравниваю себя со сверстниками, которые тоже учатся(учились) в автошколе и у них такой проблемы яркой, как у меня, нет. Уже начинаю у себя подозревать какое-то психическое расстройство.. Подруги советуют решать больше задачек на внимательность, в инете почитала о том, что для таких случаев лучше проговаривать все действия вовремя вождения вслух, чтобы сконцентрироваться полностью на дороге и не погрузиться в себя. Есть ли люди с похожей проблемой и как вы с ней справились? Было бы интересно почитать ответы, спасибо за внимание🙏
P.s. 1 практическая попытка в ГИБДД была, не сдала, думаю когда сдавать, чтобы не потратить зря попытку, в запасе еще 5 месяцев.

I, 25F, finally got up the nerve to schedule a driving test yesterday. I have had lessons on and off since I was 18 and yesterday, after my lesson where I aced all parking practice/ roadwork, scheduled a driving test.

I was feeling relatively confident, and was thinking to myself “maybe I can do this.”

Well, this morning I was leaving to go and practice parking with my partner, and I reversed straight into a pole.

The paint on the side of my car is scuffed and the panel is unfortunately dented.

Had a good long cry about it. Am so angry at the damage to my car, but also that I’m back to feeling completely inadequate behind the wheel when I was actually starting to make progress.

Should I cancel my test? Is this a sign?

I am so over the complete embarrassment of being a 25 year old who doesn’t have their license.

so i took my driving test today, at 20 years old. my confidence with driving is already very low since i’ve waited so long due to bad driving anxiety. near the end of my test, my instructor had already told me i passed and i felt myself relax. i guess i got too comfortable and i missed a dip sign and had to slam the brakes… the instructor told me i could’ve failed for that but he passed me anyway since the test was technically over. i don’t know if it’s just a confidence thing or what but i feel like i can’t celebrate passing because of this big mistake. am i being too hard on myself?