Amaxophobia: understanding the fear of driving and getting back on the road

You have your driving licence, sometimes for years, yet you always find a reason not to take the wheel. The motorway feels impossible. An unfamiliar route keeps you awake the night before. Or it is as a passenger that you grip the handle at every bend. This fear has a name: amaxophobia, the fear of driving.

I am a sophrologist, hypnotherapist and wellbeing coach in Bordeaux. I have already written about driving test stress, the nerves of the exam itself. Here I am talking about the fear that stays afterwards, in people who know how to drive. Those who tell me about it are often embarrassed, as if they were the only ones. They are not.

Here you will find where this fear often comes from, what happens in the body, a way to get back on the road in stages, a routine for the drive, what the research says and when to see a doctor.

Amaxophobia: when the fear of driving becomes a phobia

Everyone feels a little apprehensive at the wheel sometimes: in the rain, at night, in a city they do not know. That alertness is useful. A phobia is something else. The MSD Manual, a medical reference, describes specific phobias as a marked fear, present for at least six months, out of proportion to the real danger, that leads people to actively avoid the situation. It estimates that they affect around 8% of women and 3% of men over a year.

Whether this applies to you in the medical sense is for a doctor to say, not me. But a few signs speak for themselves: you turn down invitations so you will not have to drive, you take long detours to avoid the motorway, you rely on others for trips you used to manage.

The forms the fear of driving takes

It does not look the same for everyone. Some people no longer drive at all. Others drive, but only on routes they know. A study from the University of Würzburg describes three reactions: avoiding driving altogether, avoiding certain situations such as motorways or unfamiliar roads, or driving with excessive caution to keep the fear at bay.

And then there is the fear as a passenger, which often takes people by surprise: your hands are not on the wheel, and that is exactly what worries you.

Where the fear of driving comes from

The first thing that comes to mind is an accident. It is a common cause, but not the only one. A review from Massey University in New Zealand notes that research long focused on accidents, whereas a fear of driving with no accident behind it can be just as strong.

A small study of 30 people with a driving phobia asked them how their fear began. For 40% of them, it all started with a panic attack on the motorway. A collision came next, for 20%. Others mentioned a fright in a car, or a period of family stress. The sample is very small, but it says something important: the fear does not necessarily come from a real danger on the road.

What I often see

The NHS points out that phobias are often linked to a frightening event or a stressful period, and that they can be learnt from an anxious relative. In the people I work with, I often find this mix: a busy, stressful time, a dizzy spell one day on the road, then avoidance that quietly takes hold. You passed your test, drove very little, and every month without driving makes getting back to it feel heavier.

Later in life

The fear can also appear later on. A survey of 1,170 New Zealand drivers aged 65 and over found that 11% of them describe moderate to strong unease about driving, which leads them to drive less. The researchers also observed that the stronger this unease, the lower their quality of life.

What happens in the body at the wheel

Faced with what it perceives as a threat, the body goes on alert. The NHS describes the typical sensations of a phobia: feeling dizzy, a racing heart, a tight chest, trembling, sometimes nausea, and that fear of fainting or losing control.

At the wheel, these sensations are all the more alarming because you cannot stop just anywhere. Your hands tense, your shoulders rise, your breathing becomes short and high. And your gaze narrows: you stare at the car in front and forget the mirrors. The brain reads all this as proof that the danger is real, and the fear climbs further. This loop has nothing to do with a lack of willpower, and it says nothing about your ability as a driver.

Getting back on the road in small steps

The most studied approach to phobias is gradual exposure. The MSD Manual explains the principle: you list the situations that frighten you, from easiest to hardest, and face them one at a time, using relaxation and breathing techniques. You only move to the next step once the previous one has become manageable.

Build your ladder

Take a sheet of paper and write down about ten situations. For example:

• sitting at the wheel with the engine off, on your drive;
• going round the block early on a Sunday morning;
• driving to the bakery with someone beside you;
• doing the same trip alone;
• driving for ten minutes on a country road;
• taking the ring road at a quiet time, for a single exit;
• doing an unfamiliar route with the satnav;
• driving on the motorway, in daylight, in dry weather.

Give each step a fear score from 0 to 10. Start with the one around 3 or 4. Repeat it several times, until the score drops, before moving up a rung.

Get help with the driving itself

If you have not driven for a long time, a few hours with a driving instructor can make a big difference. I do not deal with driving technique: that is their job. But knowing your driving is safe takes away part of the worry.

A routine for before and during the drive

This is what I often suggest in sessions. These steps do not make a phobia disappear. They help you get through a drive without the fear taking the wheel.

Before you set off

Sit down and adjust the seat and mirrors without rushing. Rest your hands on your thighs. Feel the seat back behind you and your feet on the floor. Then breathe in through your nose for a count of four, and breathe out gently through your mouth for a count of six. Five times. The NHS lists breathing exercises among the things you can do yourself for a phobia. If you like a set structure, heart coherence breathing works on the same principle and is easy to practise the evening before.

While you drive

• Loosen your grip on the wheel at every red light, and let your shoulders drop.
• Describe quietly what you are doing: "I'm looking left, I'm indicating, I'm slowing down". It brings your attention back to the road rather than the fear.
• Keep a long out-breath, even while driving, without closing your eyes of course.
• Spot in advance where you can stop: a lay-by, a car park. Knowing there is a way out is already reassuring.

If panic rises

Indicate and stop as soon as you can do so safely. Turn off the engine, breathe out slowly, let the wave pass. It rises, then falls. Then drive on, even for a short distance. Walking home and leaving the car behind reinforces the idea that you cannot do it.

What studies say about the support available

Research on the fear of driving is still limited. A good part of it looks at virtual reality, using driving simulators.

In the Würzburg study, 14 people had two preparation sessions, then five exposure sessions in a simulator, built around their own fear ladder. At the end came a test in real traffic: all of them managed situations they had previously avoided, and 71% drove in a way the instructor judged appropriate. 93% kept this progress twelve weeks later. But there was no comparison group, and the authors themselves call for more robust trials.

A review from the University of Queensland brought together 14 studies of these virtual reality programmes. They seem feasible and well accepted, but the studies are small, often without a control group, and of low quality. I would rather be straight with you: solid evidence is still lacking. The principle, however, is the same as gradual exposure, which the MSD Manual presents as the most studied approach to phobias.

What sophrology and hypnosis can offer

There is no serious study on sophrology for amaxophobia. What I offer is based on what helps with fear in general. The MSD Manual lists relaxation, breathing and hypnosis among the tools that support exposure, and the NHS mentions hypnotherapy among the options.

In sophrology, you first learn to notice tension as soon as it starts, in your hands, jaw or stomach, and to release it. Then we rehearse drives calmly through visualisation: you see yourself getting into the car, starting the engine, taking the slip road onto the motorway while breathing steadily. The body rehearses the scene relaxed before living it. Sessions can take place at my practice or by video call.

And hypnosis?

With hypnosis as I practise it, we approach the road in your imagination, in a state of deep relaxation. The MSD Manual describes this approach: feeling calm by picturing a comfortable place, then gradually changing how you see the situation you fear. Hypnosis sessions take place only at my practice.

How I work

We start from your own ladder and from what you miss most: visiting your parents without depending on the train, taking the children to their activities, going on holiday. Between sessions, you take the small steps in real life, at your own pace. If other fears join in, like a fear of heights on a viaduct, the approach is similar.

When to see a doctor and how to start

Sophrology and hypnosis do not replace medical advice. See your doctor if:

• the fear stops you working, getting around or seeing the people close to you;
• you have panic attacks at the wheel or elsewhere, especially if they keep coming back;
• the fear began after an accident and comes with nightmares, memories that return without warning or badly disturbed sleep;
• you have felt low for several weeks.

The NHS advises seeing a GP as soon as a phobia affects your life. Your doctor can check that no physical cause lies behind the dizzy spells and, if needed, refer you to a professional trained in cognitive behavioural approaches. I work alongside this, never instead of it.

To start today, write your ladder and do the breathing exercise for three minutes a day, before you need it at the wheel. If you would like support, you can book a sophrology session for adults, by video call or at my practice, or a hypnosis session for adults at rue Ducau. I see clients as a hypnotherapist in Bordeaux, and you can read about my background on the about page.