What Does It Mean to Dream About Driving?

Driving might be a part of your daily routine that you don’t consciously think too much about. While your dreams often process the ordinary things you’ve done lately, a dream about driving that emphasizes your control of the car can have important significance.

Driving Dream Summary

Driving Dream Symbolism

Freedom

A dream of driving can symbolize that you feel free to direct your own course in life. Especially if you’re driving fast and enjoying it, your driving dream could show that you’re unencumbered and able to do what you want. However, if your dream about driving features a frustrating traffic jam, it may mean that you feel your freedom of movement is blocked in some way.

Power and Control

When you’re in the driver’s seat, you get to decide where the car goes. In this way, your dream about driving can show that you feel that you have the power to direct your own life and a sense that you have control over how things turn out for you. However, if someone else is driving in your dream, your dream could mean that you aren’t able to make all the big decisions by yourself — you have to take someone else’s wishes into account, if not defer to them entirely.

Responsibility

Though driving brings freedom and power, it also involves a lot of responsibility. When you’re driving, you have to be careful to follow traffic laws and avoid crashing into other cars. You may also have to spend quite a bit of money on fuel, repairs, and insurance for your car.

A driving dream that has an uncomfortable emotional atmosphere could symbolize that you feel weighed down by your responsibilities. Other people in your life may have nominated you to sit in the driver’s seat, whether you like it or not.

Exploration

Driving is a means to the end of getting from one place to another. In this sense, your dream of driving could symbolize that it’s important for you to get out of your house and see something new. While you may be able to substitute intellectual exploration if you’re physically unable to travel, you probably do need to leave your normal routine in some way.

Common Driving Dreams

Dream of driving a car

Dreaming of driving a car could symbolize that you feel in control of your own life. You may be curious to get out of your normal routine and see new things.

In most cases, dreaming of driving a car is a positive dream. However, if there is something upsetting about it, it could symbolize that you feel overly responsible for others or unable to get help when you need it. While some amount of power and control is a good thing, there can be a point where it becomes too much.

If your unpleasant driving dream has you lost or wandering aimlessly, this could symbolize that you have trouble finding a place where you feel comfortable and settled. While it is great to use a car to explore places you haven’t been, most people do eventually need a home base of some sort.

Dream of someone driving a car

Dreaming of someone else driving a car, especially if you’re the passenger, could symbolize that your own desires are not necessarily the guiding force in your life right now. It may seem more important to go along with the needs of someone else for the moment.

If your dream of someone else driving feels comfortable, it may symbolize that you’re relieved to have another person providing direction in your life for the time being, as you’re perhaps not sure what you’d be doing otherwise. However, if your dream of someone else driving feels upsetting, it could mean that you feel like another person is bossing you around unfairly.

Dream of someone driving away from you

A dream of someone driving away from you could symbolize a separation in your life. Even if the separation is something you know is necessary, like a child leaving to go away to school, you may still be processing what has changed in your relationship.

However, if you’ve been involved in a conflict lately, a dream of someone driving away from you could be a good omen that the warring parties will separate more or less peacefully rather than dragging things out further.

Dream of driving out of control

A dream of driving out of control could symbolize that danger is present in some area of your life. Some situations of not being able to control a car while driving are caused by mechanical problems with the car. With this sort of dream of driving out of control, maybe you should go to a mechanic to get any odd car noises you’ve been trying to ignore in your waking life checked out — it might be a warning.

If there’s not anything wrong with your car in waking life, a dream of driving out of control caused by mechanical failure could symbolize that you feel like you can’t rely on others in your life to do things they’re supposed to do. You might feel let down or betrayed by people or circumstances.

However, sometimes a situation of driving out of control is the fault of the driver. Perhaps the driver was going too fast or being careless, and things got out of hand. This type of dream of driving out of control could symbolize that you are taking too many risks in your life and need to be more careful. It might even show a tendency toward self-sabotage.

See also dream symbolism of driving off a cliff and car accident dream symbolism.

Dream of driving when you can’t drive

If you’re too young to drive, but you expect to be able to drive when you are older, dreaming of driving could symbolize that you are looking ahead to your future, expecting that it will be better than your present situation. You may feel like you don’t currently have the level of control over your life that you would like. However, it might also show that you are finding a way to direct your own course in spite of the limitations of your age.

If you’re not able to drive due to a medical condition, and you don’t see that changing, dreaming of driving could symbolize a longing for what others have. Especially if you were able to drive in the past and had to stop, you may feel a sense of loss. However, if your driving dream is generally pleasant, it might symbolize that you are finding your own way to move forward in your life, even if your approach looks a bit different from that of your peers.

If you can’t drive for whatever reason, and you found your dream of driving scary rather than liberating, it could symbolize that you feel like you are being saddled with responsibilities that you aren’t equipped to handle.

Dream of driving fast

The dream meaning of driving fast could be that you are, or wish to be, without restrictions. As long as the dream feels good, and you’re not crashing into things, it might symbolize that you feel pleasantly free in some area of your life. However, an uncomfortable dream of driving fast may show that your desire to live life on your own terms has crossed the line into recklessness.

Dream of getting pulled over

A dream of getting pulled over while driving, like by a police officer or sheriff, could symbolize that you are afraid of judgment. Maybe you have done something you feel guilty about, and you are worried that you will get caught and punished.

Alternately, a dream of getting pulled over could symbolize that you feel like you are getting picked on unfairly. If you haven’t done anything wrong, but you seem to be under scrutiny regardless, this dream might reflect that. See also jail dream symbolism.

Conclusion

Even though driving is now a routine activity that many people take for granted, it’s easy to forget what an achievement it is for mere humans to control devices that are powerful enough to take them across continents. Your dream of driving can therefore point out that you have a greater ability to direct your circumstances than you might think.