For everyone with driving anxiety: you are not alone

Sweaty armpits, nerves shooting through the roof, and spontaneous highway stress. You just have a driver's license, but getting into the car? No thanks. You'd rather take, uh, the bike. Or public transport. Sound familiar? Unfortunately for me, yes. I have driving anxiety. It's not something I'm necessarily ashamed of (I see it as an error that can be fixed someday), but I'm not really happy about it either. Being Kiki Paniekie behind the wheel just feels stupid. Especially since many friends around me drive from A to B without any problems.

Sometimes just knowing that you’re not alone is a small comfort. Well, driving anxiety buddies, I’ve got news for us. No less than 23 percent of young Dutch drivers have driving anxiety, according to research by Diks Verzekeringen. A result of simply having too little experience behind the wheel and a great fear of accidents.

Interestingly, it’s mainly female drivers who are afraid of car damage and the highway. It even has a name: azamophobia. So: shall we all sing together? *Michael Jackson can be heard in the background… ‘You are not alooooooone, I am here with youuuuuuu.

P.S.: You’re not a loser if you book a few more lessons after getting your driver’s license. Seriously. Nowadays, you can take very nice refresher courses with good instructors. Shall we just do it?