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RAC research into fear of driving

RAC Foundation research has revealed a spectrum of drivers whose anxiety affects their daily lives and prevents them driving where they would like. (Find how hypnotherapy can take you beyond fear of driving.)

Sources of anxiety include motorways, busy urban networks, and bad weather conditions. Fear of motorway driving is common.

The RAC Foundation found that:-

Young females and elderly female drivers suffer the highest levels of drving anxiety.
Professional male drivers between 28 and 55 are least likely to suffer.
Tailgating is the biggest fear for both men and women on motorways – 50% of men and 40% of women identified motorists driving too close as their No.1 motorway anxiety. 45% of female drivers fear breaking down on the motorway, while 28% of women told the RAC Foundation that HGVs overtaking was their greatest fear.
The speed and density of traffic in urban centres like London frightens many women drivers into giving up driving completely.
Driving at night and in fog are two particularly common triggers.
For 10 million drivers, the thought of venturing onto a motorway can bring on a cold sweat. One in five women drivers refuse to use the motorway network at all.

The RAC divided these unhappy drivers into Stressed Survivors, Anxious Avoiders, and Phobic Forsakers

Stressed Survivors find driving an ordeal but stick with it. They fear getting lost; getting stuck in traffic; breaking down; and being intimidated by other drivers tailgating or cutting them up. They get easily upset behind the wheel.
Anxious Avoiders will go out of their way to avoid those situations that make them nervous. This might be a major road junction, or motorways in general. Twenty per cent of Britain’s female drivers avoid motorways entirely, adding 384 miles a year to their journeys.
Phobic Forsakers have given up driving completely, not through choice but after developing a phobic response to everyday driving situations such as crossing a bridge. Others in this group may have developed driving phobia following an accident and now find themselves unable to drive past the scene of the incident or to travel in the same model of car. As many as one in three people involved in nonfatal accidents have post traumatic stress disorder, persistent anxiety, depression, and phobias one year after the incident.

Do you fall into one of these categories? If so, take the first step towards driving safely and confidently with hypnotherapy and give me a ring today on 0845-3510604 / 0117-968-7307. I'm happy to answer questions or arrange, in Bristol or Taunton, a free, no-obligation half-hour initial meeting. My approach is friendly, respectful, and very effective.

See also: fear of flying, what causes phobias

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