Can laser eye surgery make you a better driver? How your vision affects driving safety
If you’re considering laser eye surgery, or LASIK, you might be wondering what benefits the procedure could have beyond improving your vision. As it turns out, there are many ways in which LASIK can improve your quality of life – including making you a better driver. Here’s how.
How Vision Affects Driving Safety
Most people take their vision for granted, but did you know that your eyesight plays a vital role in safe driving? According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), poor vision is a contributing factor in thousands of car accidents each year1Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States for people aged 16-24, and the second leading cause of death for people aged 25-34. Vision problems are a major contributing factor in many of these crashes..
How LASIK can improve driving safety
Reaction Time
Your reaction time is the amount of time it takes for you to see an object and then react to it. For example, if you’re driving and someone cuts you off, it takes a certain amount of time for you to see the other car, process what’s happening, and then hit the brakes. The faster your reaction time, the better—and this is where LASIK comes in.
LASIK surgery can improve your reaction time by correcting issues like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. This means that you’ll be able to see things more clearly and react to them more quickly. And when it comes to driving, every millisecond counts.
Driving at Night
LASIK can also help to reduce glare and halos while you’re driving at night. This is because the surgery helps to correct certain imperfections in your eye’s surface that can cause these visual distortions. And since night driving can be especially difficult for those with poor vision, this benefit of LASIK can be invaluable.
Fewer Distractions
Another reason why laser eye surgery could make you a better driver is that it eliminates one of the most common distractions behind the wheel – fumbling around with your glasses. Whether you’re putting them on at the start of your journey or taking them off when the sun goes down, glasses can be a real distraction when you’re driving. With laser eye surgery, you wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore.
While there are plenty of reasons to consider laser eye surgery, the fact that it could make you a better driver is definitely one of the most compelling. If you’re tired of struggling with your vision behind the wheel, then laser eye surgery could be the perfect solution for you.
Schedule a free virtual appointment today to discuss this further.
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Dr. Bennett Chotiner
M.D., F.A.C.S.
MEDICAL DIRECTOR, GENERAL OPHTHALMOLOGY, CATARACT & REFRACTIVE SURGERY, LASIK SURGERY
Dr. Bennett Chotiner is the founder and medical director of Memorial Eye Institute. A noted innovator, in 1977 he established his clinical practice, the Pennsylvania Eye Associates. In 1984, he established the Pennsylvania Eye Surgery Center, Pennsylvania’s first …
Dr. Erik A Chotiner
M.D., F.A.C.S.
GENERAL OPHTHALMOLOGY, CATARACT & REFRACTIVE SURGERY, LASIK SURGERY
Erik Chotiner, M.D. diagnoses and treats a wide range of medical eye conditions. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Franklin and Marshall College. Dr. Chotiner attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia where he received multiple awards including the Physiology Prize for …
