Many people are converting vehicles into homes for various reasons. Living life in a van or bus is not uncommon these days. Take Raven Tyler, a mom from New Jersey who lives in a converted school bus with her daughter and their cat and dog to save on rent. Living expenses have been rising due to inflation, costing this mom $2,250 monthly for an apartment. To deal with costs, the Tyler family moved out of their home and purchased a $20,000 school bus to convert into a living space.

Although van and bus life is cost-efficient and convenient, since you can travel anytime, or hardly at all, there’s more to prepare besides converting a bus and packing it with your living essentials. You must also prepare your visual health to drive vehicles like a Skoolie, especially if you bring kids along. After all, you’re driving a large vehicle, so you must see clearly to keep yourself, your passengers, and other road users safe.

To know more about the dangers of poor vision for van and bus life, keep reading below:

Why is poor vision dangerous for van and bus life?

As mentioned above, driving a converted van or bus requires extreme caution. These vehicles are heavy due to their size and contents. School buses weigh around 10,000 - 25,000 lbs even if empty, making them very dangerous to smaller vehicles. Narrow but high vans are much more likely to roll if the driver loses control. While there are many reasons for an accident to happen, poor vision is often a big contributing factor. One study from The Lancet found that there was a 46% greater risk of having a road traffic crash among those with visual impairment.

Moreover, incoming headlights and the sun’s bright rays can also render you temporarily blind if you don’t wear protective eyewear. This is dangerous for you, your passengers, and other vehicles, as it increases the likelihood of a mistake. Given this, you must address poor vision issues—such as needing prescription eyewear or being farsighted—to keep safe while driving your converted vehicle.

Addressing poor vision for safer van and bus life

Correct your vision

If you don’t have 20/20 vision, you most likely have a refractive error distorting your eyesight. This may be nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism (blurred vision), or presbyopia (distorted vision in older adults). In these cases, getting a prescription from your optometrist is always best. From here, use prescription eyewear to make driving, parking, and overall bus life much safer and easier.

While prescription glasses are an option, you can easily forget to wear them, especially if you only use them for driving. A more convenient way to correct your vision is by wearing contact lenses. The multifocal contact lenses from ACUVUE provide crisp and clear vision at all distances—especially for individuals with presbyopia. Its pupil-optimized design technology allows you to see distant, intermediate, and near objects like other vehicles, road signs, and accident-prone areas. Just make sure to clean your contacts regularly to make them last and prevent scratches that will obstruct your vision.

Wear sunglasses

Besides correcting your vision, you must prevent other elements—like the sun’s glare and too-bright headlights from blocking your view. Wearing sunglasses reduces the risk of temporary blindness, making you much safer on the road.

When choosing your sunglasses, it is important to invest in a high-quality pair from a known brand like Ray-Ban or Oakley. Cheap sunglasses may not provide the protection they advertise. Ray-Ban sunglasses come with 100% UVA and UVB protection and are available with polarized lenses that are guaranteed to reduce glare from the sun and other headlights effectively.

They use metal and high-strength plastic for their frames, so you can be assured that the glasses are durable and can withstand any conditions you’re traveling in. These glasses will also protect your eyes from dust flying onto your face when driving with the windows down. Keep your sunglasses near the driver’s seat so you don’t forget to wear them.

While bus life can be fun and convenient, remember to prioritize everyone’s safety by driving with a clear vision. For more tips and articles, check out the other Cool Stuff here.