Mentally Distracted Driving

As a 20-year-old college undergrad, I am proud to say that my driving record has been kept quite clean. I have never gone over the speeding limit, cause an accident, or be visually distracted in any way. However, this does not mean I was not distracted mentally. And even if a policeman was nearby and saw me distracted in this way, there is no way they could be able to physically pull me over or notify me of my error. This form of distraction is strictly due to my anxiety. The anxiety and the worries of the what if.

The “what if” is a very common mental occurrence that occurs in many people with anxiety. I for one, have been suffering with these thoughts since middle school, and they are very hard to ignore. And while driving, these thoughts can come up in absolutely any setting, type of road, and in any car. Driving down a dark road? “What if a deer pops up in front of me?”, Driving down a highway? “What if my car suddenly stops working and I cannot brake or steer or accelerate?”. These questions are constantly bouncing around in my head and are quite distracting. Instead of focusing on the present and the road in front of me, I feel my hands clenching the steering wheel, beads of sweat dripping down my face, and my heart pounding as I worry about every possible possibility. This is highly unhealthy and most definitely a form of distracted driving. It can lead to making panicked decisions and put both me and people around me in danger. This anxiety even has the possibility of being fatal. If one worries enough, it can lead to the driver making the illogical decision to wait too long, stop too fast, and so many other possibilities that can lead to an accident and even death. And this thought leads to more anxiety. It is a terrible snowball effect that can absolutely destroy someone if the right measures and actions are not taken to ensure a drive reduced in anxiety and worry. This sort of event happened to me and almost led to a disastrous accident. While crossing a suicide lane, I became quite nervous and jittery as I thought of both lanes of incoming cars smashing headfirst into the sides of my car. I thought of it so much that once I finally made it to the middle of the lane to turn left, I had not realized that my car was sticking out too much into the lane of incoming cars. Thankfully, the driver saw my error and swerved safely out of the way. But because of my worrying and lack of judgement, I almost made a fatal error which could have led to terrible consequences. And this occurrence isn’t as easy to combat as texting and driving, for example, due to it being a mental state. However, there are ways I can improve my mental state and overwhelm my irrational and unhealthy thoughts with more logical and positive thinking.

This form of thinking can be done quite simply, however the key to this method being successful is to say your thoughts aloud. When my anxiety starts to ramp up, and my thoughts begin to become more and more irrational, I begin to speak to myself and focus on breathing calmly. I start with, “Sarah, you are ok.” And I then describe my setting around me, such as “There is a big truck next to you, staying in their lane.” Or “Yes, it is dark, but you are using your bright headlights to see the road in front of you.” Describing the setting to myself with details that help me calm down and assure myself that I am safe is quite effective. I then continue speaking to myself and reminding myself of these facts, such as “You just got your car repaired, so there is no reason why it would suddenly malfunction.” Or “You have been driving for 5 years without any issues.” And doing so, my anxiety greatly decreases. However, this method might not work or be fully functional to many people who suffer from these thoughts. And I did not come up with this. As many people should, I sought out help from a professional therapist. She gave me this method, and I believe it is a very useful and helpful thing to do when this sort of issue arises. This form of distracted driving is mental and therefore, the only way to combat it while currently immersed in a driving situation, is to mentally fight off those thoughts and remain calm. And with driving education, one can familiarize themselves with the way of the road and ensure calm, collected decisions will be made.