Poll Have You Had A Car Accident After PTSD, Due To PTSD Symptoms?

[Llama]

I'm aware that car accidents can cause PTSD, but I'm also of the opinion that PTSD can cause car accidents (ie dissociation causing someone to zone out and bang) Mostly what I'd like to know is how many people have had car accidents after they developed PTSD, and if you feel like expanding and stating whether you believe dissociation had anything to do with it, that'd be cool too :)

 

[Llama]

I have had two major accidents that were my fault after developing PTSD and one minor. The two major accidents had more to do with poor choices due to lack of experience and rational thinking (ie don't speed on dirt roads, and on icy roads slow down well before the red light. The icy road I could have tried to drive onto the sidewalk where there were no people rather than go into traffic).

The minor accident was TOTALLY due to Dissociation, and I've had plenty of near misses because of it as well.

 

[Grainne]

I was in an accident prior to developing PTSD, but I think at that point I just incorporated it into my "trauma collection". That time of my life was significant for traumas.

I was not afraid to drive and was not really affected by seeing other vehicle accidents until after my PTSD symptoms began, however.

 

[Deleted member 541]

I haven't had any due to dissociating, but I have had MANY MANY close calls because of it......I really have to focus while driving because I dissociated quite often......

 

[MizzASG]

I have PTSD because of car accidents (in my 8 years of driving i have been in 3 major accidents, none of them my fault).

I am MUCH more of an aggressive driver now because of them. I don't trust anyone but me on the road so I am usually hyper-vigilant when I am in my car.

 

[Jimmy]

I suppose everyone is allowed their own opinion, so this is mine.

Yes, I have had some close calls probably due to poor concentration which you could blame on dissociation, and have also had a bit of road rage at times due to my anger.
I have only been diagnosed for a few years, and am aware when I am having a real bad day and don't drive.
But in my opinion it is just one huge excuse to blame things on PTSD, and is not right. Have you ever thought that some of the medication you take may affect your alertness.

I suppose it is only my opinion, but it makes me angry when you are running a poll about it. Do you want to know if any of those accidents caused deaths??

 

[gdf]

I wonder if it could be about risk taking behavior when we look at causes?

Gina

 

[Llama]

I am 100% aware of the difference between having a difficult time being alert, and dissociation. Dissociation is a symptom of PTSD, and it happens to a lot of people. At the time of my accidents I wasn't even on medication, so I somehow doubt that it had any significant effect on the accident or my alertness level.

It's just as stupid to blame nothing on PTSD as it is to blame everything on it. Dissociation is a real symptom, and it does affect people at all levels of their lives and during many parts of their day.

Why does it make you angry that someone would want to find out how many car accidents are caused because of dissociation? Would it make you angry if someone ran a poll to find out how many car accidents were caused by alcohol? Or cell phone usage?

I have a theory and am looking for data correlation to see whether it is worth pursuing this theory further. In the future I might want to know if those accidents caused deaths sure, but right now I'm more interested to see how many people it happens to, because I'm sure I'm not the only one.

 

[Llama]

Gina, for my first couple of accidents where I wasn't dissociating, just doing something stupid, that could very definitely have been part of it.

 

[Jimmy]

Llama, my bad. Its just the wording. In all honesty, some of the medication they have us on warn us not to drive. And PTSD is such a broad term. Dissociation I can understand, and it can come at any time.
Here in Australia, if I was to mention to anyone within the Transportation area that I suffered from dissociation, I would probably have my licence removed from me.
And also here, I know a lot of people with PTSD who just simply do not drive themselves, not just simply because of dissociation, but also because of Anger and road rage incidents.

Jimmy

 

[a3a2]

I was in a serious accident while cycling. I was hit by a car. I believe it was partly due to risk taking behavior caused by PTSD and depression. And partly due to someone driving who should no longer have been allowed to drive.

For a long time I would not drive, not because of the accident, but because of an irrational anxiety caused by the PTSD.

 

[Jade-]

I had an accident last Thanksgiving. I volunteered to work that day just to avoid any family gatherings. I think I was dissociating the entire day. After work, I did a hit and run. I don't know WTF I was thinking, actually I wasn't thinking at all. I was totally in a daze.

I went home, told my hubby about it, he yelled at me for leaving the scene and couldn't believe I would just drive off like I did, especially since there were witnesses. He did a fast paint job on my car and we pretended it never happened. Thankfully I was never caught. I don't know how I wasn't caught...