Gephyrophobia

Gephyrophobia is an anxiety disorder or specific phobia characterized by fear of bridges and tunnels, especially older ones, whose sufferers may avoid routes that cross bridges or act very apprehensively when passing over one as a passenger. Possible manifestations include fear of driving off the bridge, fear of a gust of wind blowing the sufferer off it, or fear that the bridge lacks the structural integrity to avoid collapsing while it is crossed, and the fear tends to be exacerbated on taller bridges since it overlaps with acrophobia, the fear of heights. Several United States bridge authorities, including the New York State Thruway Authority and the Mackinac Bridge Authority, have historically offered a service driving a gephyrophobic driver's own car across the bridge for them.