Getting your confidence back after an accident

Hey all,

I had an accident last summer when a car drove into me and left me with broken bones. I've been looking forward for ages about getting back on the bike, but now that I've started riding again I've found my confidence has been ripped to shreds. I keep shitting myself every time a car goes past. I do about 10-15km and then I have to stop as my nerves won't allow me to carry on.

How do you guys/gals get over accidents? I've looked at the bikeabilty website but that seems to be aimed at kids? Would seeing a psychologist help at all?

Izzy Eviel

Could I suggest you contact one of our resident cycle trainers - Edscoble, Wigan Will, Skydancer or Multi Grooves or *.mf

The training can then address any particular concerns, help confirm good practice and suggest potential improvements. I could see this may help with your confidence a little.

Izzy; this is the Cycle Training forum https://www.lfgss.com/forum49.html

Whether or not it can help you with your particular problems I wouldn't like to say but it can't do any harm, possibly in conjunction with other approaches. Do feel free to contact us if you want to know more.

After a minor shunt on a motorway years ago I have been a very nervous passenger ever since (I don't drive). I think that might be because I feel I have no control over the situation. Either way I know how it feels to have that dread and anxiety hovering over you.

Sorry to hear it.
I got totalled and went through a windscreen at 15, lucky all said and done.
for ages after I would grip the dash when travelling in the front seat of cars, if they had to brake sharply, in fact even today Im telling a driver of a car Im in to leave a bigger gap. (and now im like oooooold)
If this incident was relatively recent, it is going to take quite a while to relax in what youre still remembering as a risky situation. May I suggest its time, more time to just adapt again. Take your time and dont expect to be razzing it with the workplace timetriallers for a while. Training could definately help, just at reinforcing your best road positioning, and the crucial moments when youre 'in control' of junctions.
Goodluck with this, Im sure it will be worth in the long run.

Just a quickie but I've also had my confidence a little short in the past and I found that by looking back at each successive vehicle passing from behind it was enough to prove to myself not everyone was out to get me. You'll find that you soon get bored of it and concentrate on having fun getting from A to B.
Where are you based?

Was a bit surprised to hear that the appearance of Bikeablitiy seemd to be aimed at kids, I;m sorry to hear about your incident, but very glad that you're alive and well and that's important.

I myself have a little scared just before Christmas (3 yoofs jump out of their cars and decided to assault me for being in their way of their precious BMW), and I realise how you may feel about going back on the road, especially when you feel you have no control over the traffic.

The others above me are fantastic to talk to and have plenty of experience of helping people regain their confidence in riding on the road, Wiganwill's recommendation of checking the Cycle Training forum is a good start.

Izzy, you'll be able to gain your confidence back, the best way to do it is simply step by step at a time, training will make a difference and you may feel safer with the instructor helping you get a good feel of the situation as we ride with our trainee on their chosen route/commute.

I got taken out by a car a few years back - breaking bones/teeth & 3 weeks concussion. First few rides were very nervy - I stuck to cycle paths to start with, but on going back on the roads, confidence gradually increased - but as mentioned above, cycle training with Will got me back to cycling properly.

Was a bit surprised to hear that the appearance of Bikeablitiy seemd to be aimed at kids,

why surprised?
children must make up more than 2/3rds of Bikeability delivery surely?

You'll be OK - just take your time getting back into it, small journeys first, stick to roads that are quieter even if it makes the journey longer. Get yourself some of the London cycling maps for the yellow and blue routes.

This won't help your particular circumstances but may help someone else so I'll post it here.
I had a bad wipe out a few years ago, knocked out, staples in head and had bad vision (blurriness, double vision, dizziness) for a month after.
But, and I'm not saying I'm awesome or hard or anything like that, but I got on the bike the next day, then the next, then the next... I know you can't if you break a limb but the concept of fighting your fear by confronting it head on does have good results, or at least did for me. I was dizzy and felt sick but I did a couple of miles nice and slowly and then the second time was a lot easier.
I'm sure that even after a longer gap it will be a lot easier than it seems in the mind before you do it.
Hope this helps, I'm trying to...

I had quite a spill in 2009 which I'm still recovering from. At the time I was commuting every single day and going on two group rides a week. I think the group rides really help with confidence getting back on the road. Luckily my commute wasn't too long so it didn't take too long to get back on my commute, but I was definitely more wary after that. I find that aggressive riding (riding faster than traffic, being decisive, etc) helps confidence as well - though I was already quite an aggressive rider to begin with (having had some grim encounters with drivers in the past; people bumping me from behind on an empty street, not respecting right of way, throwing things at me).

I wasn't able to ride for about a month after my accident, but I started out doing a group ride or two a week and that definitely played a pivotal role in getting my confidence back. And there's always the fun of getting to know new people.

it is totally understandable to have psychological symptoms after being involved in an accident - especially if you have broken bones.

i deal with a lot of people who have had cycling accidents through work. Where people have severe psychological symptoms, psychiatrists mostly recommend cognitive behavioural therapy, or eye movement de-sensitisation therapy, both of which have good results, although can be expensive if paying privately. If you are making a civil claim for this accident you should ask your solicitor to arrange a psychiatric report and treatment, if they have not done so already.

Of course, it is common sense to first try more natural ways of getting over the impact of the accident, eg cycle training, etc, as people have already suggested. But then if you are still feeling an uncontrollable fear when you are cycling, you may want to look at getting some treatment - especially if your nerves are making you less safe on the road.

Very salient post Mr Jeffcott

I sympathise... had a bad spank last summer with a car turning into me going down a hill, smashed the windscreen, bike totalled etc. All I can say it gets better the more miles you put in. Don't know where you live, but I found doing a lot of miles in Richmond Park helped me get it together fairly quickly - somewhere safe you can feel good about cycling again. Early Sunday mornings are also good for getting on the roads without too much traffic. After a little while you lose the feeling that every car is out to wipe you out. Good luck :-)

Not bike related, but when I was 17 I had a bad crash in the car I was driving at the time, flipping and rolling it at 70mph on a country road after losing control in the wet. Crashed into a forest upside down with the car on fire, and I had to crawl out to the road and flag down a motorist to take me to hospital. For the next couple of years I was terrified as a passenger, and would not drive again.

My parents method of getting me to drive again was a family trip away somewhere, cannot remember where, but when we got to the destination, my mother's car was parked up, and as I got out they tossed me the keys and told me to make my own way home, before they drove off again. Forced me to confront my fears, getting back on the horse so to speak. That was the hardest thing, once I had gotten over the fear of driving, just doing it again for such a distance helped.

Other than that, it took time to come to terms with the fact that the slightest drop of rain did not mean I was going to lose control, but eventually I could rebuild confidence by just repeating simple actions over small distances until I started to restore some of the lost confidence.

Also taught me a valuable lesson about the responsabilities of driving, but that's another matter.

Mine was also a car crash - minor with major consequences in that 5 years on I am still suffering with my injuries - and i was to blame for the rear end shunt.

I would say that I got myself back in the car as soon as the hospital gave me the all clear to drive (mri was clear), about 6 weeks after. It WAS HELL ON EARTH, and i was nervous as hell, crawling along, but I knew that i had to get over this if I wanted to get my life back.

Now I have good days and bad days, even when I am cycling, and the trick is not to beat yourself up about the bad days. It is also accepting that at first your reactions may be slower, or you'll feel nervous, if you feel you are having a panic attack, acknowledge that it is nothing more than that - 'it is only a dumb panic attack bought on by what has happened and it will pass quickly' and it does.

But keep at it, you won't feel any worse than you do already, you can only feel better.

Have you thought about getting a Mountain bike or cross bike and doing lots of off road cycling? this could enable you to learn to enjoy cycling again in the safer motor vehicle free environment and massively add to your bike handling skills as a bonus.

It worked for me when I went through a major bout of depression and stopped cycling on the roads because I lost self confidence in all aspects of my life.

write a song about it?
YouTube - In Different Ways (Jon Lajoie)

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated. Some good points raised!