A quarter of young adults experience driving anxiety
Car marketplace OSW carried out research into driving anxiety among Dutch people. The study was conducted by PanelWizard among 1,068 Dutch drivers. 42.9% of respondents say they find driving in the dark and in bad weather stressful. 1 in 5 respondents say they regularly experience stress or driving anxiety; among young people that rises to 1 in 4.
More than 33 percent become nervous because of other people's driving, and 27.7 percent of drivers under 30 regularly experience driving anxiety. Of all drivers, 22.6% avoid routes or situations that trigger anxiety, and 11.7% say driving anxiety affects their social life, work or studies.
“The impact of driving anxiety reaches far beyond driving itself,” says Renaldo Molenbeek, co-founder of OSW. “When tension behind the wheel determines where and when people dare to go, it directly affects their independence, social life and sometimes even their work.”
Historically busy traffic
Figures from Rijkswaterstaat (the Dutch road authority) show that last year was historically busy on Dutch roads. Congestion had never been so high. Additional research by the European Transport Safety Council shows that the number of fatal accidents in the Netherlands has risen over the past ten years and is among the highest in Europe. Driving anxiety therefore rarely has a single cause; it often arises from unpredictability and the learned avoidance of unsafe situations.
Avoiding the motorway
Of Dutch drivers, 13% avoid the motorway when they can, and 20.6% regularly feel tension or fear behind the wheel. Unpredictable and busy situations are mentioned most often as the main triggers.
“When people stay home more often because of their anxiety, that harms their mobility. And anxiety isn't only unpleasant while driving — it also harms people's wellbeing,” emphasises Bert van Wee, professor of Transport Policy at Delft University of Technology.
Rijschool Delsing and fear of failure
Very early on we see in practice that learners struggle with insecurity and indecision — something that can ultimately turn into driving anxiety. All too often we hear that (former) learners barely drive any more after getting their licence.
Rijschool Delsing specialises in tackling potential driving anxiety by letting learners make their own decisions at the earliest possible stage, based on good observation technique and hazard assessment. The ultimate goal: delivering confident, safe drivers.