Having Car Crash Dreams? Here’s What They Might Mean

Unlike dreams about the supernatural (think: zombie dreams), your car crash dream might stem from a real fear of a devastating smashup, according to dream experts. At the same time, this type of nightmare might hint at more abstract worries. A car crash dream will often mirror a potentially life-altering event. Maybe you were recently passed over for a promotion, or perhaps your finances took a hit, putting your goal of buying a house out of reach. You could even be wrestling with the consequences of a breakup.

Have you been butting heads with your partner or co-worker lately? Another dream interpretation suggests car accident dreams point to an ongoing conflict with others. It could be that you’ve been avoiding a confrontation that you can safely have in your dreams. If a car hits you, it might mean that your beliefs or lifestyle contrast with those of somebody close to you.

When your wreck involves water or you dream about a submerged car, it’s possible an emotional issue burdens you. In dreams, water is said to represent feelings, so to crash into a river or lake might mean you’ve been taken off course by an emotional issue. Because drowning dreams are connected to feeling panicked or overwhelmed, getting trapped in a car underwater might indicate you’re bogged down by intense anxiety in waking life. Similarly, dreaming of swerving off the road into snow may mean your inhibitions or repressed emotions have steered you wrong.

And not to panic if your car crash dream ends in your demise. Dreaming about death can represent an end of something else in your life, as opposed to a life ending.

“To dream of your own death isn’t a premonition but rather a reflection of how you are coming to realize that life as you now know it is coming to an end,” Lauri Quinn Loewenberg, a professional dream analyst, told CNET. Loewenberg said death dreams are common during major live upheavals, such as moving or making a career change.

Not every road trip ends in catastrophe. A simple dream about driving or other benign dreams involving cars usually represent our life journey, ambition, or moving from one life phase to the next. With that, the context is often important to your dream’s meaning.

If you’re behind the wheel of a car, your automobile dream suggests you feel in control and are successfully navigating life’s twists and turns. Perhaps you feel confident about decisions you’ve recently made. But if you’re at the wheel and not enjoying the journey, you may be trying too hard to control things in reality.

Riding on the passenger side could mean you’re taking a passive role in life, and if you’re in the back seat, you might be lacking the self-esteem to make decisions for yourself at the moment. Whoever is in the driver’s seat could be the person who’s currently calling the shots for you, such as a micromanaging boss. Or the driver could indicate the area of your life that needs your attention. For example, if your spouse is driving, perhaps you feel like your relationship has determined your life’s direction.

For mom of four Marie Shaurette, dreaming about her ex-husband driving their car turned out to be an eerie premonition. “The night before my ex-husband — and father of my three older kids — passed away from COVID-19 complications, I had a dream that he was driving the kids and me across a bridge and lost control of the vehicle and we went over,” Shaurette told Mom.com. “This was probably around 3 a.m. I know because it was disturbing and woke me from my sleep. At 5 a.m., I received a message from my brother-in-law telling me he had passed during the night.”

Another aspect to consider: What are the roads like in your dream? Smooth sailing and a safe arrival can mean that you are content in waking life. Cruising down a highway suggests you feel optimistic about your ability to achieve your goals. Seeing a green traffic light might denote starting something new.

Some other types of car dreams, and what they might mean:

• If you dream you’re driving on a rocky road, you might have hit a rough patch in life.
• Do you veer off-road or get lost? In waking life, you might feel as if you’re deviating from a goal. Likewise, if you dream about being stuck in traffic, a frustrating situation could be derailing you.
• Driving without headlights implies you feel as if you’re heading through life blindly and lacking enough information to make decisions.
• Losing your car suggests you’re unsure of what you want to do with your life.
• A stolen car could stand for feeling stripped of your identity.
• If your car stalls, your fuel tank is empty, or your ignition fails, you might be low on motivation. This less dramatic car dream imagery suggests you might need a kick in the pants to accomplish your goals.