The fear of crossing streets, or its terms dromophobia and agyrophobia, is a
specific phobia that affects a person's ability to cross a street or roadway where cars or vehicles may be present. The term dromophobia comes from the Greek dromos, meaning
racetrack.
Causes of dromophobia
Dromophobia may result from experiencing a
road accident and thus may be classified as a subtype of
panic disorder with
agoraphobia (PDA).[1] As such, dromophobia, especially fear of crossing streets alone may be a component of accident-related
posttraumatic stress disorder, as a reaction to a situation reminiscent of the past traumatic event.[2][3] Sometimes this behavior may be misinterpreted during PTSD symptom assessment as a caution (i.e., a normal learning behavior) rather than fear (which is an abnormal avoidant behavior). [4]
Dromophobia may be present in people, especially children, with
autism, or other neurological conditions that impact the ability to judge the speed of an approaching car.[6]
^Kuch, Klaus (November–December 1995). "A Brief Self-Rating Scale for PTSD After Road Vehicle Accident". Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 9 (6): 503–514.
doi:
10.1016/0887-6185(95)00029-n.
^Keppel-Benson, Jane M.; Ollendick, Thomas H.; Benson, Mark J. (February 2002). "Post-Traumatic Stress in Children Following Motor Vehicle Accidents". Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 43 (2): 203–212.
doi:
10.1111/1469-7610.00013.
PMID11902599.