Driving Lessons for Anxious and Nervous Drivers

It’s reported that over 25% of drivers on our roads are nervous or anxious about driving in one way or another. From a few nervous wobbles about large and busy junctions, to a total fear of driving anywhere.*

1nfluence Driver Training can help you overcome your driving anxiety

Having experienced anxiety, lack of confidence and PTSD in the last 30 years herself, Lin Webb from 1nfluence Driver Training uses her unique insight, together with 25 years as a Driving Instructor, to work with you to build coping strategies and help you overcome your hurdles.

Situations where Lin can help you overcome anxiety and driving nerves include:

• General lack of confidence in your driving ability
• Driving test nerves or repeatedly failing a driving test when you feel you can drive to the required standard
• Experienced / mature drivers who have lost confidence or may not have driven for a lengthy period of time
• Speeding, drink/drug driving or road rage issues
• Concerns about driving on motorways and dual carriageways
• Fear of snow, fog, bad weather or night driving
• Worry about having an accident, or experiencing anxiety or panic attacks after an accident
• Anxiety about roundabouts, busy junctions or heavy traffic
• Feeling nervous when driving alone, or the opposite, being nervous when carrying passengers
• Being worried about driving after being criticised by your spouse or partner
• Anxiety about driving in new areas
• Returning to driving after having had health challenges

Whatever you are feeling, Lin really does understand and wants to help and support you. She will calmly work with you to assess your anxiety level and better understand what is triggering your increased anxiety, then encourage you to design lessons to ease your situation, build up your resilience and overcome your driving fears. Single lessons are available from £58 per hour. (For full details please see our Business Terms and Conditions).

Lin Webb, who specialises in driving lessons for nervous drivers, explains just a few of the most common ways she helps nervous and anxious drivers, and anyone who finds driving challenging or stressful for any reason

Coaching

Coaching will help you take responsibility for your learning and help you conquer any other fears you hold. Having been trained to use coaching rather than the old fashioned instructional style of tuition, I can help you develop coping strategies that will have a lifelong effect on your safety when driving.

Breathing exercises

Breathing exercises take many different forms and can help all types of stress and anxiety. I can introduce you to help you give them a try to see what’s best for you. With practise you’ll be able to recall your favourite when you need it.

Relaxation

To start with this is something that you will practise at home in a few different ways. It takes a while to get to grips with but has huge benefits with all kinds of symptoms relating to stress and anxiety.

Challenging your thought patterns

Being aware of whether your self-talk is positive or negative is just a first step. We will reflect on when these thoughts happen, and ultimately how they affect emotions and behaviours as a result.

What people have said…

“Despite passing my driving test 11 years ago, I had never been able to establish the confidence to drive independently. It had developed into a phobia and I approached Ln to ask for help with tackling my high anxiety. After just a couple of lessons, I experienced a huge transformation in both my confidence and ability and, a month on, I now feel able to drive my daughter to school and back every day, which was a huge personal goal of mine. Lin was calm, down to earth and really easy to talk to: Id definitely recommend her to others with similar issues around driving. Its been a life changer! Thanks again Lin x”
Rozenn Gladwell

“I passed my driving test at the age of 17, but didn’t drive for over 10 years. The more time I left it, the less I wanted to get back into a car! Lin was calm, patient and encouraging and quickly got me driving through traffic, on motorways and managing some reversing manoeuvres. I can’t thank her enough for her support and would recommend her services to anyone wanting to get back behind the wheel!”
Tom Charlton

“I have tried to drive with numerous instructors since I was 17. Time and money were an obstacle but the biggest obstacle was my own psychological obstruction that I had created many years earlier. When I was 5 I was in involved in a massive car collision and spent three weeks in hospital recovering.

All of the driving instructors I have had would get frustrated, seeing great progress, getting closer to test only for me to break down in tears if a car came too close and I would go into panic.

Not wanting to be beaten by fear and now with two small children and many exciting beaches and countryside tantalising close and needing to be explored, I decided to make the hunt for an instructor again. I found a few websites, made a few calls and eventually found 1nfluence and (thankfully) Lin Webb. Lin spoke on her website about helping anxious drivers, teaching and coaching them until they became confident on the road.

I have never seen myself as a ‘driver’ but felt intrigued to give it a go. In the first lesson Lin drove us to quiet roads and let me in my own time drive the great distance of probably 30 yards and maybe 10 ish miles per hour..! It was THRILLING! Each week I gradually stopped dreading my lessons. I wanted to learn to be a driver not to rush through the lessons and hopefully pass the test. My children would be my regular passengers so ‘fluking’ the test was never an option. Seemingly without me realising I started to look forward to my lessons. We would take my children out with us over the holidays so they got used to being in the car with me and I got used to driving them.

I passed my theory test and then I started to feel like driving could in fact be for me…

Lin had helped me prepare for the test with every single lesson. Lin truly taught me how to drive on ‘real’ roads not just ‘test’ ones. I felt ready and prepared (even for the biggest roundabouts..!), all because of Lin’s expert guidance. I passed my test first time. I burst out crying as soon as the driving examiner told me. I couldn’t believe it! It felt like the end of a very long story line. I didn’t have control in the beginning when I was involved in the car crash but with Lin’s support and help I had taken control over it’s ending.

I am so grateful to have found Lin and 1nfluence and the great adventures she has made possible for myself and family.

If you are nervous or in two minds about driving, I understand, (truly I do!), congratulations you’re here reading this! It’s the first step and I really recommend your next step to get in contact with 1nfluence. It’s a great investment to get you driving safely and confidently on the road and onward to many adventures, freedoms, opportunities and happy times ahead!”
Chrissie Elcock

1nfluence Driver Training also provide specialist support for drivers with SEN and learning differences, and have extensive experience with many different conditions, including helping people who are learning to drive with ADD/ADHD, learning to drive with ASD or driving and learning to drive with PTSD.

* A survey of 2,000 drivers by Nissan in 2018 found that about a quarter one quarter of drivers were uncomfortable on multi-lane roads, more than half of drivers said they felt nervous when hemmed in between lorries and cars on busy motorways, while just over 40 per cent said they disliked overtaking HGVs and other large vehicles. Other research conducted by insurers Swinton Group in conjunction with road safety charity IAM RoadSmart found that around one third of British people regularly drive while stressed.