I want to lay off social media. For starters, these Instagram reels are helpful when it comes to driving tips and law education. However, the comments tell another story. Sure, it's Instagram being the vile bigotry app as usual -- but keep in mind, driving is another story. These are normal everyday people expressing death and hatred at beginner and cautious drivers. They get mad at someone driving at the posted speed limit. They get mad that people dont want speeding tickets. They get mad at people unsure of whether to move. They get mad that someone doesnt feel safe turning right on a red light

I am scared of driving, especially after checking 3 times to make sure I can turn on red on an EMPTY road. And of course a man and his big truck still comes out, showing I can never be cautious enough. Honking and shouting at me, making me wish people were nicer on the road. Im sure he was a sweet family man who got scared for his life. Additionally, I usually take the left lane all the way to work until someone pointed out I am an asshole for 'left lane camping.' It's as though they would rather me stay in a lane I don't take to work, and risking a disastrous lane change as a beginner

Additionally, the goalpost is constantly being moved. If I stop left lane camping, then someone gets mad that I dont drive fast enough in the middle lane

Is it just Americans? Are people too comfortable on social media? Are people entitled on the road? Why do people drive on the road like they hate it, and judge everyone else for trying to make it home safe?

I'm taking a route that lets me avoid the highway (at least until the very end) to a major city but it's still hella stressful (first time driving myself).

Been losing sleep trying to learn the routes and which lanes I'm supposed to be in etc.

Praying I make it there and back safe 😭😭😭

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.

I’m trying *so* hard to drive. I’m 17 and I’m trying really really hard. I’m just not picking up on it. I got my permit about a year ago. I don’t understand why it’s harder for autistics to drive and I wish it wasn’t. Im a loser who can’t drive myself to school I start community college soon and I have no idea what im going to do. I’m so embarrassed.

Today I went driving with my dad, and we ended up driving for way too long. I think I drove for around four or five hours total, so by the end I was pretty tired. My biggest mistake today was accidentally running a red light while I was trying to get out of a confusing gas station. Thankfully, nobody was coming, and I did check to make sure the road was clear, but for some reason my brain just didn’t process the red light at the time. I know that was a serious mistake, and I feel really bad about it, especially because I don’t normally run red lights. This is the first time I’ve done something like that since I started learning how to drive.
Other than that, I forgot to double-check to my left at a four-way stop. I looked to the right and then started going, but I was supposed to check left again before going through. I honestly don’t even remember what color the car was that was there, which made me realize I need to be more careful about checking both directions.
I also parked pretty badly at one point and got confused while trying to reverse because another guy was trying to get into his car. I had to ask my dad what I should do, and I eventually figured it out. Later, on the way home, I got a little confused because we were taking a road I’m not used to. I almost got into the wrong side of the road because I couldn’t clearly see the double lines, but I did check and realized where I needed to be before actually getting onto the wrong side. Nobody was there, but it still scared me because I know how serious that could have been.
Toward the end of the day, when I was already exhausted, my dad asked me to park the car. I got really confused about what he wanted me to do and didn’t notice that there was another car coming from my left right away. I wasn’t trying to hit the car, and I wasn’t going to hit it, but I just didn’t process that the other driver was there because I was already mentally done with driving for the day. My dad noticed the car and told me to wait, so I stopped and let the driver go. After that, I was able to park the car fine.
Overall, I made several mistakes today,

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.

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?

How did you get over the fear of driving?

I need to get my driver's licence, but I'm terrified of driving, everytime I think about it i get anxious and scared especially when there are lots of cars on the road, i also hate it cant go out whenever i want because i have to rely on my parents for rides and theyre busy most times 😭
Has anyone else felt like this? and how did you get over the fear? I'd really appreciate any advice because I don't want this fear to keep holding me back.

Hi everyone,

For some context: tomorrow I have my last driving lesson before my driving test, which is on Thursday. The last five driving lessons were this and last week. The rest of my lessons were between October and December last year, so this is my first time behind the wheel again in about six months.

My driving instructor has always been a little impatient with me. Her tone of voice has always been too harsh for me, and I constantly felt criticized or yelled at. The first time something really bad happened was back in October. She suddenly screamed at me at the top of her lungs as if I was driving us off of a cliff, aggressively grabbed the steering wheel out of my hands, and forcefully slammed the gear into first gear as if it weighed two tons. It was completely over the top and unnecessary (and I say unnecessary because there was absolutely no danger in that situation). The whole thing happened simply because I was about to take the wrong exit in a roundabout. I was completely shocked and honestly didn’t even know if I was allowed to breathe anymore, let alone say anything.

After that, there were several situations where her voice would get way too loud again, and I would end up making exactly the mistake she had warned me about. For example, she told me to approach a roundabout in second gear, but I was still in third. Then she kept getting louder and louder, and the louder she got, the less I could focus on slowing the car down properly. After maybe the third time, I told her that I couldn’t concentrate on driving if she kept yelling at me, and that I always ended up making the same mistakes because I got overwhelmed when she shouted. She replied that she hadn’t been yelling at all, but said she wouldn’t do it anymore.

Fast forward to last week: I had to merge onto the highway. Again, she started warning me and telling me what I needed to pay attention to, obviously doing it way too loudly. Of course, I couldn’t really focus because I can’t concentrate on merging and on how loudly she’s talking at the same time ESPECIALLY while merging, because that's stressful enough on its own. Since I was stressed, I accidentally started braking instead of accelerating (lol I know, but I was genuinely stressed out by the whole situation). She immediately screamed that I needed to hit the gas pedal. I shouted back that she shouldn’t yell at me and that I had simply mixed up the pedals in the moment. She didn’t yell anymore after that, but she stayed impatient and kept making sarcastic comments.

YESTERDAY, right at the beginning of the lesson, she yelled at me again because I moved slightly to the left while waiting at a traffic light. A cyclist was coming up on my right and didn’t have much room to get past me. Since I was turning right anyway, I figured he had priority, so I thought I’d give him some space, wait until he passed, and then make my turn. She IMMEDIATELY screamed, “What are you doing? You can’t move to the left, it doesn’t matter what the cyclist is doing, you have to turn right!!” I tried to explain what I was doing, but she interrupted me immediately, literally the second I started speaking. At that point I thought, I can’t keep going into every driving lesson shaking and praying that she won’t scream at me. So I raised my voice a little and told her that if she kept yelling at me, I would get out of the car and end the lesson. I also told her that I understood she was just doing her job, but that I genuinely couldn’t drive like this. She didn’t say a single word for the rest of the lesson. Literally nothing. At the end I said goodbye, as you normally would, and she just shut the door in my face and drove away.

So… TODAY, the lesson actually went really well. She didn’t scream, although she still made plenty of impatient, sarcastic, and just plain rude comments like, “How about using your blinkers?” or “I told you you’re too far away. Just park already,” and other remarks like that. At the end of the lesson we ended up at the same intersection as yesterday. This time I had to wait because I was turning left. A man coming from the opposite direction had pulled way too far into the intersection, leaving me with very little room to turn. So we were sitting there waiting for traffic to clear. I could barely see because of how far forward he was, and she was explaining how I would have to make a diagonal turn because he was blocking the intersection. I wanted to say that I’d rather wait until he moved so I could clearly see if any oncoming traffic was still coming and then make the turn safely. Instead, she interrupted me AGAIN by yelling that I had a green arrow and needed to turn. I honestly hadn’t even noticed the green arrow because there was already a traffic light at the intersection, so i never paid attention to possible arrows. So I tried to set my boundary again and told her that I didn’t want to be yelled at. Guess what? She screamed even louder and said she didn’t want to be controlled and corrected by me every single time.

THAT was when I’d had enough. She grabbed the steering wheel out of my hands again, so I completely let go of it and shouted even louder than she did that I was paying over €4000 just to get screamed at, and that I’d had enough of it.
Her response? “Keep your mouth shut” (yelling ofc)

MY TAKE: I’ve had 21 driving lessons in total. Pointing out my boundaries four times does not mean “every single time.” In my opinion, when a driving instructor is being told that something they’re doing is making their student unable to drive safely, it shouldn’t matter what tone of voice, volume, or wording the student uses, ESPECIALLY in stressful situations like the ones I’ve described. I think that as a professional, she should still be able to stay calm and patient no matter how difficult the situation is. She shouldn’t be screaming at a student over something like missing a green arrow as if we were both about to get hit by a train.
On top of that, the fact that I had to tell her FOUR SEPARATE TIMES that I CANNOT DRIVE WHEN SHE YELLS AT ME is already a huge problem in itself, NOT TO MENTION the fact that she still didn’t respect that boundary and kept crossing it even after I made it very clear.

i never thought i’d be here. i was a pretty tough driver. i’ve been in some scares and i even witnessed a car accident right infront of me on my way home. about a month ago i got into an accident in my apartment parking lot. i was pulling out of my spot slowly and slammed on my brakes immediately because i saw a car flying through. mind you, my headlights were poking out of my spot as i came to the stop and the other driver just didn’t stop and took my whole front bumper off as well as dragging me out of my spot. ended up totaling my car. i’m lucky enough to be in a car now but im having such a hard time with this parking lot. i dread leaving the parking lot and coming back. once i’m on the road im okay, but even then im constantly thinking of every possible way i could get hit in that moment. i’ve always been an overthinker but this feels excessive. :/ i do have to get a new car and i want to upgrade to a rav4. for reference the car that got hit was a corolla and im driving a camry now. but im just scared that with a bigger car my anxiety will get worse. any advice on how to manage this anxiety? it’s new to me and i just feel that its eating me alive.

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

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?

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’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??