How to Overcome Your Fear of Riding on a Bus After an Accident

Car crashes are one of the leading causes of death as part of the unintentional accident statistics. Around 6 million passenger car crashes occur every year, so it’s understandable why people have a fear of riding in automobiles, especially buses. Public transportation anxiety, in general, can be crippling. 

1. Seek Help

In some cases, when overcoming a fear, it can be imperative to not try and defeat the issues on your own. Instead, seek someone to talk to. Whether that’s a therapist, friend, or someone who had a similar experience, help is crucial. 

You might also try journaling daily about how you’re feeling each day. Oftentimes this will help alleviate your stress and anxiety. Speaking about your timeline of events, how you felt when it happened, as well as after can help you face traumatic experiences head-on. 

It may also be helpful to enroll in therapy to conquer your fears. That could mean speaking with a therapist, trying hypnotherapy, or even acupuncture to relieve stress. 

There are plenty of treatment plans for those suffering from fear and even PTSD following a traumatic event. Exposure therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR, may be helpful. 

2. Ease Into Driving or Riding 

Whether it’s a car or bus accident, you may find it difficult to drive again or ride in a vehicle again. If your primary fear is riding on a bus, which can often be attributed to the lack of control, try easing into driving instead. 

That way, you can become accustomed to being on the road without full-fledgedly jumping into bus riding. When it comes time to not be in control, try riding in a vehicle with a loved one you trust, like a family or friend who is a responsible driver. 

Slowly easing back onto the road can be the answer to helping you feel comfortable enough to ride. 

3. Take a Course

Try getting into a defensive safety driver course or similar to refresh your memory. This can be helpful whether or not you were at fault for the accident you experienced. 

Overall, it can help you to feel safer by re-learning the rules of the road and how to be better aware of your surroundings, making you feel safer in the vehicle. 

Some driving instructors help people overcome their fears of driving or being in vehicles, not just for the physical driving portion that goes with it all. 

4. Don’t Delay Action

As scary as it seems, the longer you delay getting back onto the bus, the harder it will be. You’re effectively building up a wall over time that will become more and more difficult to knock down when the time comes. 

It’s true that you need to “get back in the saddle” is really true here. The longer you go without driving or using public transportation, the harder it will be for you to begin at all. Your anxiety and fear will only grow as the days pass you by. 

5. Remember the Safety of Busses

Bus rides are generally safe. Accidents involving buses are not all that common and usually less common than the average car’s chance of getting in an accident. 

Bus travel is generally seen as fifty times safer than passenger car travel and four times safer than the train. It comes in second for safety next to air travel. 

While it may not seem that way because of your accident, keep in mind that the chance of another accident occurring is slim to none. If you’re scared to get back on the road, you’ll be comforted to know that buses are the safest mode of travel behind only planes! 

Conclusion

No matter what path you choose to take, transportation in any matter is a way of everyday life. Take your time, choose carefully and take steps toward a future that is right for you. 

Accidents are overwhelming in any sense, and you’re not alone in feeling scared to take transportation again. 

Begin your recovery journey early, and don’t forget to connect with a professional near you for assistance. In California? Contact this bus accident attorney in Los Angeles today.