Is the fear of driving over bridges irrational?

Is the fear of driving over bridges irrational?

Not necessarily.

Jerilyn Ross, a psychotherapist and president of the Anxiety Disorder Association of America has had patients who allowed themselves to be locked up in the trunk of their car just before driving over a bridge. Their phobia and fear of driving over a bridge is so severe that they found it better to be inside the trunk of their car than sitting in fear on their car seat.

Another gephyrophobia sufferer is Susan Shillaber from East Windsor N.J. who has long been afraid of bridges since she was a child. She has since learned how to deal with crossing bridges especially now that she drives. But there are instances where she still feels anxious especially after hearing the 2007 collpase of the Minneapolis bridge.

Usually, the fear of driving over bridges is not totally irrational especially after hearing news of collapsed bridges.

AAA's John Townsend explains that the Minneapolis bridge's interesting architecture invoked the most fear --- unfortunately, such a fear was validated following its collapse causing a lot more people to fear driving over large bridges with huge spans.

Though medical experts claim that gephyrophphobia is not likely to increase just because of people hearing news about collapsing bridges, NJ resident Shillaber is not thinking of crossing any bridges after hearing the collapse of the Minneapolis bridge. She declares, and with good reason, that it has made her anxious. She claims that every time she comes up to a bridge, the threat of it collapsing is at the top of her mind.

At the time when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed over the Mississippi River back in August 2007, large trucks were reportedly on the bridge. Also, the collapse occurred during rush hour's peak. Plus, numerous people were on their way to the Twins game. However, six years before, an evaluation of the bridge revealed that it showed signs of steel trusses fatigue. Also, a federal report back in 2005 confirmed that the bridge was structurally deficient.


The following details states the rationality of such fears:

According to USA Today, the American Society of Civil Engineers approximates that as much as US$1.6 trillion is required over a period of five years to modernize the country's dams, water systems, roads, runways and bridges.

From the American Society of Civil Engineers website:

"ASCE's 2005 Report Card for America's Infrastructure indicated that between 2000 and 2003, the percentage of the nation's 590,750 bridges rated structurally deficient or functionally obsolete decreased slightly from 28.5% to 27.1%. However, it will cost $9.4 billion a year for 20 years to eliminate all bridge deficiencies. Long-term underinvestment is compounded by the lack of a federal transportation program."

Also, the FHWA or the Federal Highway Administration's 2008 strategic plan explains that less than 25% of the country's bridges must be classified as deficient. Even if these objectives were met, 1 out of 4 bridges would still be considered as deficient. Out of the 590,740 bridges in America, one out of three urban bridges (approximately 43,189 or 31.2%) were considered functionally obsolete.

It is important to first acknowledge facts and accept the significance of such details as these eventually aid in accepting your own problems --- as this is considered as the first and most critical step in being able to solve it.