If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
intense fear of driving
Hello. I'm 24 years old and have a anxiety disorder called ocd. If you
have seen on tv or maybe the movie aviator some people have a intense fear of germs. In my case its driving. I was so fearful of driving that I didnt start until I was 18 and then only 6 minutes to work and back or the local store. I'm driving a lot more now but instead of being comforted I am bothered even more. There was a time I made a left turn right in front of someone. I was watching the road both ways while they slipped out from a parking lot in just a blink of a eye. Even this situation made me feel unfit to drive. since then I almost never make a left turn unless its absolutely required. Also a while back my girlfriend pressured me to driving her to work while we stayed in chicago. I was in no way ready to drive there and should have refused. In the blinding sun I ended up going right through a red light, one of my biggest fears. thankfully again no one was hurt. My current fear is running this light where I have to cross a highway on my way to work. There are service roads along the highway so you have to watch for 2 lights to become green. I work nights and on monday morning I go in at 330am. Some monday mornings are just downright painful to keep my eyes open. I have a terrible fear of falling asleep and running through this light. We normally go in at 10pm and for a while I was in the habit of driving home at 330am for lunch which just made me dead tired. Since then I just stay in the parking lot at work and I feel a little safer. I also have a fear of getting confused and running this light. If you've ever had days of "brain cloud" or whatever you call where your mind is so anxious you know what I mean. I mean how do I know anyone or myself couldnt run this thing and hit me. If I was t-boned by a semi coming down the road at 55mph it would probly be instant death or long and painfull death. On the plus side I always wear a seat belt but dont know if it would help much in this situation. I have looked online and sickened to see 40,000 plus people die every year. thats over 400,000 people in 10 years! Its like a war with mass casualties yet people give it no thoughts. I look at cars like a coffin with wheels. I drive a 95 s-10 and was curious how safe a light truck like that is? i dont really need a truck and was wondering if I should look into another vehicle? anyway thanks for reading all of this. this is serious question and really how I feel about driving so if your going to make fun hold it to yourself. thanks |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Jim wrote: > > I have looked online and sickened to see 40,000 plus people die every > year. thats over 400,000 people in 10 years! Its like a war with mass > casualties yet people give it no thoughts. I look at cars like a coffin > with wheels. > Yup - that's like another 9-11 attack every MONTH!!! And we could do something about these highway terrorists since they are us. And it wouldn't cost a thing, in fact it would save billions of $ every month if people would just drive slowly and carefully. Insane. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Jim wrote:
> Hello. I'm 24 years old and have a anxiety disorder called ocd. AFAIK, ocd stands for obsessive compulsive disorder. What you describe in the rest of your post is more along the lines of a phobia. See a psychiatrist or psychologist if you're able. If you cannot concentrate on your driving due to excessive anxiety, then try using mass transit until you have a greater degree of control over your phobia. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
On Tue, 28 Jun 2005, Jim wrote:
> Hello. I'm 24 years old and have a anxiety disorder called ocd. If you > have seen on tv or maybe the movie aviator some people have a intense > fear of germs. In my case its driving. <snip examples> A fearful driver cannot be a safe one. Fearful people tend to act on impulse rather than thinking things through. They tend to get easily confused and "wound up", leaving them unable to make the closely sequential rapid and sound decisions needed to drive safely. You also state that you drive on inadequate sleep, which is extremely dangerous even if one isn't abnormally fearful. I strongly suggest you simply choose not to drive until such time as you find a treatment for the cause of your fear, rather than its symptoms. > I look at cars like a coffin with wheels. I've got someone in my family like that. He happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time too many times while he was a little kid, and saw six or seven really gory, gross car crashes -- not including the time his dog was sent flying through the air and into the path of another vehicle, right in front of his eyes, when an inattentive driver jumped the curb. Cars to him are ugly death-machines (trucks less so; he never saw a truck crash, and motorcycles even less so; he never saw a motorcycle crash either...so you can see this doesn't correlate with real-world safety at all). His solution? He simply doesn't drive. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 19:15:25 +0000, Jim wrote:
> I was so fearful of driving that I didnt start until I was 18 and then > only 6 minutes to work and back or the local store. I'm driving a lot more > now but instead of being comforted I am bothered even more. If your fear is interfering with your driving you shouldn't drive. Plain and simple. > There was a time I made a left turn right in front of someone. I was > watching the road both ways while they slipped out from a parking lot in > just a blink of a eye. Even this situation made me feel unfit to drive. > since then I almost never make a left turn unless its absolutely required. Apparently your fear _is_ interfering with your driving. > I drive a 95 s-10 and was curious how safe a light truck like that is? i > dont really need a truck and was wondering if I should look into another > vehicle? Train, bus, taxicab. > anyway thanks for reading all of this. this is serious question and really > how I feel about driving so if your going to make fun hold it to yourself. I am not trying to make fun of anyone. I am sorry to hear you have a condition that influences your driving like that. Nevertheless you are endangering others through your irrational fears and the associated problems with handling a motor vehicle safely. If your condition is treatable, get it treated. But whether it is treatable or not you should not drive while the condition persists. You are horrified by 40000 deaths on the road per year, so you should stop contributing to the danger on the road. Chris |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Around 6/28/2005 12:15 PM, Jim wrote:
> I have looked online and sickened to see 40,000 plus people die every > year. thats over 400,000 people in 10 years! That's actually not much, given how much we Americans drive. The NHTSA's FARS front page places the fatality rate at 1.48 fatalities per 100,000,000 vehicle miles traveled (2003), and that's the lowest it has been roughly since the advent of the automobile. > I drive a 95 s-10 and was curious how safe a light truck like that is? Not very. > i > dont really need a truck and was wondering if I should look into another > vehicle? How about a nice Cannondale? A Schwinn, perhaps? In any case, avoid SUVs and any other kind of trucks like the plague. > anyway thanks for reading all of this. this is serious question and > really how I feel about driving so if your going to make fun hold it to > yourself. No making fun, but I do think you should seriously consider not driving at all. Virtually everyone drives at a speed they feel is comfortable for conditions; it sounds like the speed you're most comfortable with is a walking pace. -- ~/Garth |"I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. Almgren | I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. ******* | And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant." for secure mail info) --H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
On Tue, 28 Jun 2005, Garth Almgren wrote:
> > I have looked online and sickened to see 40,000 plus people die every > > year. thats over 400,000 people in 10 years! > > That's actually not much, given how much we Americans drive. The NHTSA's > FARS front page places the fatality rate at 1.48 fatalities per > 100,000,000 vehicle miles traveled (2003), and that's the lowest it has > been roughly since the advent of the automobile. ....nevertheless, despite all the baseless "We're number one!" chestpounding, the US is only 10th-best and 16th-best in the world in deaths per vehicle-distance travelled and per vehicle registered, respectively (www.scienceservingsociety.com). |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
"Daniel J. Stern" > wrote in message n.umich.edu... > On Tue, 28 Jun 2005, Garth Almgren wrote: > >> > I have looked online and sickened to see 40,000 plus people die every >> > year. thats over 400,000 people in 10 years! >> >> That's actually not much, given how much we Americans drive. The NHTSA's >> FARS front page places the fatality rate at 1.48 fatalities per >> 100,000,000 vehicle miles traveled (2003), and that's the lowest it has >> been roughly since the advent of the automobile. > > ...nevertheless, despite all the baseless "We're number one!" > chestpounding, the US is only 10th-best and 16th-best in the world in > deaths per vehicle-distance travelled and per vehicle registered, > respectively (www.scienceservingsociety.com). > It's not like we are going to run out of people soon, though. heh heh Bernard |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 19:04:20 -0700, "Bernard Farquart"
> wrote: > >"Daniel J. Stern" > wrote in message in.umich.edu... >> On Tue, 28 Jun 2005, Garth Almgren wrote: >> >>> > I have looked online and sickened to see 40,000 plus people die every >>> > year. thats over 400,000 people in 10 years! >>> >>> That's actually not much, given how much we Americans drive. The NHTSA's >>> FARS front page places the fatality rate at 1.48 fatalities per >>> 100,000,000 vehicle miles traveled (2003), and that's the lowest it has >>> been roughly since the advent of the automobile. >> >> ...nevertheless, despite all the baseless "We're number one!" >> chestpounding, the US is only 10th-best and 16th-best in the world in >> deaths per vehicle-distance travelled and per vehicle registered, >> respectively (www.scienceservingsociety.com). >> >It's not like we are going to run out of people soon, though. Thanks to the third world... |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
"Daniel J. Stern" wrote:
> > On Tue, 28 Jun 2005, Garth Almgren wrote: > > > > I have looked online and sickened to see 40,000 plus people die every > > > year. thats over 400,000 people in 10 years! > > > > That's actually not much, given how much we Americans drive. The NHTSA's > > FARS front page places the fatality rate at 1.48 fatalities per > > 100,000,000 vehicle miles traveled (2003), and that's the lowest it has > > been roughly since the advent of the automobile. > > ...nevertheless, despite all the baseless "We're number one!" > chestpounding, the US is only 10th-best and 16th-best in the world in > deaths per vehicle-distance travelled and per vehicle registered, > respectively (www.scienceservingsociety.com). So you're saying that we need to kill more people? Can I pick? -- Cheers, Bev ************************************************ Horn broken. Watch for finger. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Ford Researcher Says Teen Drivers are Easily Distracted From Driving | James C. Reeves | Driving | 9 | May 11th 05 08:31 PM |
Speeding sucks | Magnulus | Driving | 191 | April 26th 05 05:21 AM |
Oregon Dunes, beach driving in OR | John Davies | Jeep | 12 | January 9th 05 11:44 PM |
Audi A4 TV module - view whilst driving? | Russell Fray | Audi | 7 | May 14th 04 08:32 PM |