You hear a great deal about driving under the influence and distracted driving. But people don’t talk much about driving while stressed or anxious. Despite not being a popular topic, it’s a common problem, considering 75 percent of U.S. adults experience regular stress, as noted by the American Institute of Stress.
Difficulty Concentrating
When you’re anxious or stressed, your mind is often on your worries, not the road. You might miss a turn, fail to notice the vehicle in front of you stop, fail to notice a vehicle entering your lane, or overlook a stop sign.
To drive safely, you must be focused on the road at all times to keep yourself, other motorists, and pedestrians safe. If you take your eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds and are driving 55 mph, it’s like driving the distance of a football field blindfolded. When you’re preoccupied with your troubles, you’re not fully paying attention to the road either. Ultimately, you could find yourself in a situation where you don’t have enough time to react when an unexpected obstacle occurs.
You could be driving for several miles when you suddenly realize that you don’t remember much of the trip, although both your hands were on the wheel. You may not be focused enough to make rational, safe driving decisions and may even make poor ones when you can’t focus on your driving.
Could Drive Aggressively
When you’re stressed or angry, you may start driving aggressively. For instance, let’s say someone is driving a little too closely behind you. You might lose your patience and stop abruptly to spite them. You may ride too closely to the motorist in front of you if you feel they aren’t traveling quickly enough.
You may also find yourself speeding or becoming confrontational with other drivers on the road if they’re moving slowly or make a careless mistake like forgetting to use their turn signals.
Can Affect Your Judgment
Stress can throw off your ability to accurately process what you’re seeing as you’re driving. For instance, you may misjudge the space you have to merge into traffic. You might think another vehicle is further away than it really is. You may also struggle to judge the speed of another vehicle or how much time you need to stop.
Could Cause You to Drive Faster Than Usual
Feeling stressed can cause you to drive faster than you usually would. Anxiety can have you feeling rushed, even though you don’t have anywhere to be at a specific time. Sometimes, the stress you’re experiencing will reduce your attention to speed, so you’ll travel faster than you usually would.
You could have a heightened sense of arousal when you’re stressed. That emotional and physical activation often leads to impulsivity.
May Have a Hard Time Keeping Calm in Stressful Situations
When a sudden, unforeseen situation happens, an already-stressed driver may overreact or get increasingly nervous and not know how to respond. For instance, if you’re experiencing anxiety before you get behind the wheel, you may brake too hard, hesitate before reacting, swerve suddenly, overcorrect, or turn the wheel too sharply.
Anxiety Can Lead to a Lack of Sleep
Sleeping gives your mind time to rest and reset. Without enough, your brain doesn’t receive the break it needs. While a lack of sleep for only a day can have some impact, chronic sleep deprivation can add up over time.
Therefore, if you’re not getting adequate sleep each night because of stress, you may notice your reaction time isn’t as quick as it usually is. This could cause you to get into an accident when you’re unable to react in time to prevent a collision. Even if you usually don’t have a problem concentrating on your driving, you may find it difficult when you haven’t slept much lately. You’ll also be more likely to make poor decisions when you’re tired.
According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), drowsy driving contributes to more than one in five fatal car crashes. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 70,000 accidents happen every year from drowsy driving.
To put this into perspective, when you’re driving while drowsy, you reduce your reaction time by 21 percent, as noted by the NHTSA. This figure, however, varies based on how little sleep you’ve gotten. The NSF notes that drowsy driving reduces your peripheral vision by 20 percent. The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM) states that drowsy driving can decrease your steering accuracy by 25 percent.
Symptoms of Anxiety Can Affect Driving
While anxiety affects your thoughts and how well you can focus, it can also lead to physical symptoms, such as sweaty palms that make it difficult to grip the steering wheel. You might have digestive upset, shortness of breath, a racing heart, dizziness, or headaches that interfere with your ability to pay attention. Muscle tension can cause you to be uncomfortable and stiff, which can affect your reactions and ability to control your vehicle.
Ideally, you want to calm yourself down before you get behind the wheel to decrease your chances of an accident and remain in control of your vehicle. You’ll be less likely to get caught up in road rage, and you’ll be more able to concentrate and respond appropriately. And if you’re involved in an accident where a motorist may have been suffering from stress or anxiety behind the wheel, an experienced car accident lawyer like those at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC might be able to assist.
