Can a Self Driving Car help with Anxiety?

Can a Self Driving Car help with Anxiety?

There’s a lot of people who don’t drive because of anxiety from a traumatic experience or car accident. It can be debilitating by limiting social interaction, responsibilities, and your ability to work or pick up your children after school.

Occupational Therapists have an important role in driver rehab, but most clinicians don’t teach people how to drive self driving cars. In this article, I share my experience of how a self-driving car can help reduce driving anxiety.

Rebuilding Confidence Behind the Wheel

Recently, I was able to help someone begin driving again with the use of a semiautonomous vehicle. They had a history of anxiety from a recent trauma and also past car accident, but they needed a way to drop their child off at school.

This made the activity a whole lot more meaningful and made the step to driving much more attainable.

In this case, they weren’t ready to jump straight onto the road, so our first step was just getting them comfortable sitting in the driver’s seat again. In an empty parking lot, they took control of the Tesla and set it to Full Self-Driving mode.

The idea was to build trust and let FSD handle the Pressure of things, so they could focus on learning the features without the pressure of traffic.

Once they’d practiced a few times, they could see how Tesla’s Full Self-Driving could really help ease that anxiety. It gave them a sense of control, like having a co-pilot. After they were comfortable in the parking lot, we took the next step to get in the road.

We chose a time when traffic was lighter, and they began to practice driving the school route. The Tesla handled the main driving, with my friend just supervising and stepping in when needed. Little by little, this routine built their confidence as they let FSD navigate, especially in less busy areas.

Now, here’s the thing: FSD isn’t perfect. One of the biggest learning points was recognizing when Full Self-Driving wasn’t doing the best job. They had to get comfortable with when to take over, especially when FSD hesitated or made choices that didn’t feel quite right.

But, every drive I think was really important because it was a step forward.

It’s been two months now, and driving still isn’t effortless for this individual, but FSD has made this entire journey so much more doable.

It’s taken some of the weight off, allowing them to focus on learning the road again, building up their confidence, and most importantly, getting their child to school safely.

Can Driver Anxiety be reduced with Self Driving Vehicles?

So can a semi-autonomous vehicle make a difference for someone anxiety? When we think about overcoming anxiety, we often focus on finding ways to reduce the fear that the issue causes us.

A semi-autonomous vehicle may be the bridge to helping someone feeling slightly more willing to get behind the wheel, but at the same time it won’t work for everyone.

All of us have different levels of anxiety when it comes to driving, and some drivers may need additional therapy to help them.

Who else can benefit?

Self-driving technology could also be highly beneficial for individuals with low vision or those who experience anxiety driving at night due to limited visibility. For people with seizure disorders, Tesla’s autonomous features allow for safer driving during times when they are less likely to experience a seizure.

This technology could also support the aging population, offering a boost in confidence for those who may feel less certain about their driving abilities.

Problems related to Costs

Many people aren’t able to step into the self driving world, because of the cost, but in recent years owning a self driving vehicles is much achievable.

For example, owning a used Tesla is about half the price as a new one, and there are also used EV tax incentives that can decrease that price by another $4,000.

Additionally, Tesla stands out as the leading choice for self-driving cars, offering a Full Self-Driving subscription for just $100 per month. However, purchasing a used Tesla with the software already installed can be a far better deal.

Summary

It’s not about letting the car do everything; it’s about having a tool that helps you overcome those first few hurdles. That meaningful goal, like taking a child to school, paired with technology like this, can truly help people reclaim their independence.

Now with technology, there’s always a lot to learn and so I think this isn’t for everyone right now, but I still think it’s a step in the right direction, especially for those who have anxiety.

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