A car accident can have a lasting impact on your life in ways you never imagined. For example, you may have never anticipated the unease you may feel the first time you go to drive again after your crash.
Telling when is an appropriate time to begin driving may not be as easy as you hoped. Monitoring your physical and emotional health can help you assess whether or not you feel ready to drive again.
Recovery from injuries
Physical injuries sustained in your accident could prevent you from operating a vehicle for some time. Even minor injuries such as whiplash or a broken bone could complicate your mobility and make driving difficult. Major injuries including spinal impairments, traumatic brain injuries and internal bleeding may require extensive recovery time.
As you heal from physical injuries, you may also need to take drugs to help with pain management and treatment. Depending on your prescriptions, you could face legal repercussions if you start driving while still on narcotics. Your health care team can help you identify at what point in your recovery it is safe to begin driving again. Even if you feel ready to get behind the wheel, make sure you follow your doctor’s instructions to avoid unnecessarily endangering yourself.
Ability to manage triggers
Even as you recover physically, you may have anxiety about driving again. Substantial emotional trauma can disrupt your confidence and make driving an unpleasant and scary experience. According to Geico, one way to release some of these feelings is to document your crash experience. Write it down. Share it with a therapist. Ask others for help. With the right support, you can effectively manage your triggers so you can gradually regain the confidence to drive.
Serious car accidents can strip away your freedom and have significant financial repercussions too. Working with an attorney may help you decide how to proceed so you can move on and prevent your accident from causing long-term destruction.