You may be an experienced driver, or newly qualified. Whatever your experience level, we have a bespoke motorway driving course perfect for you. A lot of people who take our motorway driving course do so because:

1. They have developed a fear of motorways for no specific reason
2. They have developed a fear of motorways for a very specific reason, which could be anxiety after an RTC, a bad experience (such as a panic attack, road rage, near miss)
3. They have always had a fear of motorways that may be getting worse
4. Their general lack of driving has meant they’ve not had much experience of motorways and now are fearful of them

Motorway anxiety ranges from mild fear to a level of anxiety, which can trigger a panic attack. If you’re at the latter end of the spectrum we tend to find our longer duration courses work better (4 or 5 x 3.5hr sessions), as it can take time to address your anxieties and build your confidence.

Elements we look at on an anxiety-based motorway driving course:

1. Discussing your lack of confidence and anxiety – what elements do you feel have contributed to your issues
2. An introduction to motorways, either in short spells, or longer, based on what you need
3. How you can lower your anxiety by increasing your observation and planning
4. How by understanding other drivers, and drivers of HGVs, you can empower yourself and boost confidence
5. Looking at the very specific elements, which trigger your anxiety (thoughts and/or driving situations)
6. Soothing your anxiety through safer driving
7. Advanced and defensive driving skills, which will not only reduce or eliminate your anxiety, it will make you actually enjoy driving much more
8. How to safely enter and exit motorways with confidence
9. How to safely deal with tailgating drivers
10. How to avoid getting boxed in
11. Dealing with busy junctions and lanes
12. Learning to drive at a safe and progressive speed
13. Learn what to do if you make a mistake
14. Remaining confident in adverse weather
15. How to safely deal with motorway breakdowns

Scary Thoughts – from an anxious motorway driver:

Over the years, we have trained thousands of anxious motorway drivers. Here are a few words we hear. Do any sound familiar?

“Other cars get too close to me”
“I hate overtaking”
“I get tailgated by lorries”
“I don’t drive fast enough”
“I’m scared of getting in the wrong lane”
“I always seem to get boxed in”
“I worry other drivers think I’m doing something wrong”
“I’m convinced I’m going to crash”
“I hate driving under or over bridges”
“Why are other drivers so rude?”

Whatever your inner voice says, or whatever you worry about, we can help in a caring, non-judgemental way. All our tutors are experienced in helping drivers regardless of their skill, experience or fears.

Learn more about what course duration is best for you – more info.
Learn more about the high-quality standard of our tutors – more info

You can book online at www.advanced-driving.co.uk/book/ selecting any full or half-day option, but in the notes section, mention it’s a motorway course and more details about what you want from the course.

Useful Tips:

Learning to Unlearn – Having a fear of driving is a learned fear. This means you can unlearn it too. There would have been a time in the past when you didn’t fear driving – you can return to that through confidence training. Sometimes, other things like NLP, counselling and hypnotherapy can also help. Some clients often do this alongside driver training or before they start on-road driver training.

Other Life Events – Quite often, other things are going on in someone’s life when they find an event (such as a road traffic collision, road rage encounter, near-miss etc) has triggered a driving phobia. These ‘other things’ can vary, such as going through a messy divorce, starting a new job, having a baby, caring for an ill relative. The list goes on.

Positive Affirmations – Write a list of positive words which work best for you and remember them. Say them often, and also before you start to drive and also when in an anxiety-provoking situation. For example: “I love driving, I’ve driving confidence, I’ve become a more confident driver, Driving is fun.”

Discover Your De-Stressors – Before you drive, do something which you enjoy. Run, go to the gym, have a slice of that cake you love, call a friend, dance, sing, meditate, do all these at once if you need to! Then, when in your car, play the music you love, and drive somewhere which excites you, and don’t forget to use Sat Nav if you need to. This is all about linking driving with happy thoughts. Do it, and see how it changes how you feel. Even a slight improvement is a great move forwards.