The quiet passenger: Cognitions, avoidance, and onset among people with driving anxiety

•Confirmed the Two-factor structures for the driving and riding avoidance scale.•Confirmed the two-factor structure for the driver cognitions questionnaire.•Anxiety mainly originated due to crash-related factors or due to criticism.•Driving with a critical passenger is a source of anxiety over driving.•Regardless of the origin, driving anxiety manifests in similar ways.