Regaining confidence after crash?

eh i dunno

Was in a crash 2 weeks ago when i hit black ice going around a bend and slid into an oncoming car. Got my car back last week but my confidence is shot to bits. Im in my late 20's and driving 7 years accident free so i know im a decent driver and was always confident and careful when driving. Anyone any tips on regaining my confidence on the road?

patrickc

sounds harsh perhaps but just get in and drive the longer you leave it, the harder it will be. take someone in the car with you whos reassuring also, and who can drive if needed.

my brother wrote off his car during the week, he said he was nervous but he just got back to it rather than prolonging the anxiety of it by waiting.

KylieWyley

+1 on this.


the road conditions have improved since your accident. take faith that it wasn't your fault and if you find yourself in bad road conditions again, just take it easy around bends until the confidence comes back.

eh i dunno

I did get back in straight away but i've become a nervous driver now and going really slow :mad: Cant wait for dry safe roads again

mikemac

I didn't crash a car but got knocked off a bike and my confidence was shattered.

And a lot of it my own fault as I didn't start back immediately

At least you've done this OP, you're halfway there

listermint

I bumped someone a few years back, wasnt a major crash (low speed) But i did feel nervous afterwards. This was there for a number of weeks but It definitely goes away after these weeks, Just keep at it. And be safe

Im way back to my confident level now. best of luck!

sean1141

just get back behind the wheel.. if you can maybe head to a quiet road to ease yourself back into it... even if you wanted you could try a driving instructor for a few hours. they should be able to help you get over your nerves.
i know what your feeling.. i went over the end of a silage pit in a tractor once.. was terrified to go back at it again but when i did i was grand after an hour.. just a bit more cautious!

eh i dunno

Cheers for the advice guys....As my crash happend while going around a bend my biggest fear is going bends again. And constant flashbacks of the crash aint good either. No injuries tho im lucky enough. Black ice is scary stuff

2qk4u

eh i dunno wrote: »

I did get back in straight away but i've become a nervous driver now and going really slow :mad: Cant wait for dry safe roads again

Well done for getting back in, keep at it.

As said already, just get in there and keep at it. It will get easier. It's a horrible feeling.

I was in a pretty horrific crash, my husband was driving, he got into a car a couple of months later (he was in hosp for a month) and bit by bit he got his confidence back but it did come and he eventually got back to normal. I had to learn to drive about 6 months after the crash and at first I thought I would never do it - didn't even want to to be honest - and now I love driving.

You will get your confidence back, just take it handy!

Testament1

I crashed about a year and a half ago. I was doing 100km/h at the time and naturally it gave me a bit of a shock. But I was back driving again the next day, didnt want any time for nerves to set in. So just keep at it, take it easy for a while and just try get a feel for driving again. Whatever you do dont fixate on the crash and its causes etc as you'll never be fully confident in yourself if you keep thinking about it.

ottostreet

I wrote off my car into a hedge at about 40-50mph few years back.

Hopped out, got the car into a nearby yard, got a lift into town, and bought a new car straight away and went driving, until the car broke down two hours later.

Instead of being a crap day, it was great!

OK, it could have been crap if I had been injured, but if youre not injured, you have to just get on with it and not dwell on it.

Jimbob 83

Just hop back on that horse and consider it a cheap lesson for underestimating the icy conditions , you could have just as easily tried to brake at a T juction and went out infront of a lorry

The problems with cars nowadays is they are too comforable and make us feel like we can bomb along in any conditions

KayTee

eh i dunno wrote: »

Cheers for the advice guys....As my crash happend while going around a bend my biggest fear is going bends again. And constant flashbacks of the crash aint good either. No injuries tho im lucky enough. Black ice is scary stuff

2 years ago I was hit head on having just rounded a bend. I seen the guy coming, all I could do was wait fir the impact. Driving after that was pretty scary for a while. I was so anxious approaching bends, especially if I couldn't see what was around it till the last second.

Slowly but surely my confidence came back, and I am happy to say that I am back whee I was before the accident in terms of confidence and in my belief in myself as a driver. Like me you had no control over what happened, and that's what I hated.

It takes a while, but it does happen. Good luck!

JerCotter7

When someone hit me over 2 years ago now I felt better afterwards. It made me realize not to be a complete and utter idiot on the roads and how quickly something can happen. A lot more cautious now. Especially if I see a car waiting to pull out. They more than likely won't start to pull out when they see my car but you always have that one idiot.

Atlantic Dawn

You just have to drive as often as you can and it will go away. I'd encourage driving back to the scene of the crash a couple of times to ease your mind and the fear of the area.

Gitb1

Ive had a few crashes and I find aside from the hit my wallet took I've benefitted from them.

When you crash your confidence takes a knock but the reality check could save your life in the long run. At least you werent injured in the crash and now know how easy black ice can take control of the car away from you. It will make you a better driver down the road and you'll be more aware of driving to suit the conditions.

Dont let the anxiety get the better of you, you went 7 years without crashing so you cant be a dire driver. Just take it handy and your confidence on the road will some back.

Jimbob 83

JerCotter7 wrote: »

When someone hit me over 2 years ago now I felt better afterwards. It made me realize not to be a complete and utter idiot on the roads and how quickly something can happen. A lot more cautious now. Especially if I see a car waiting to pull out. They more than likely won't start to pull out when they see my car but you always have that one idiot.

Yea there is always that retard who goes bananas to get out infront of you making you brake and then they go 45mhp the whole journey yet speed up to 50 as soon as they hit a 30 zone , lol :pac:

SV

happened to me in the black ice too.
see -> http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056128159

I took the advice on that thread and I got back in to another car and started driving again as soon as possible..I was very shook tbh.
but you keep at it and it all comes back...going back to the scene of the crash made me very nervous but I thought it was necessary.

With the negatives of the crash comes the experience that you can't gain anywhere else.

Poutbutton

How are you doing now OP? I wrote off my car last Tuesday morning. Same as you, I was going fairly slow around a bend on a country road near LadyChapel/Rathcoffey, but hit black ice and ended up in a ditch, heading for a pylon. Car ended up landing on its passenger side, all the people that thankfully stopped to help me get out of the car slipped on the ice it was so bad. A neighbour that came out said I was the 3rd car to go in the gully in 3 weeks, no sign, no warning, no grit and earlier I had checked temps in Dublin and it was 4 degrees so I was'nt expecting ice at all in Maynooth...anyway, I thought I was ok, just winded and shocked. 4 days later, everything aches and my nerves are shot...I'm so lucky I did'nt get injured or break any bones or worse but dont know how I feel about driving and carrying passengers with the confidence I used to. This thread has been helpful though. Just in case anyone from that morning is reading this, Thanks to everyone that stopped and helped me, I could barely talk with shock at the time.