Long-Distance Bus Drivers with Eye Muscle Movement: The Eye-Friendly Profession - An Observational Retrospective Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/jir.v4i2.8275Keywords:
Bus Driving, Occupational Health, Oculomotor Exercise, Prolonged Sitting, Sedentary Behavior, Visual HealthAbstract
Long-distance bus driving requires continuous visual scanning, sustained attention, and repetitive gaze shifting, and prolonged eye muscle activity. Although professional driving is commonly associated with fatigue-related occupational risks, limited research has explored its potential relationship with adaptive visual functioning and subjective ocular comfort among experienced drivers. This study aimed to evaluate the visual health status of long-distance bus drivers following prolonged driving exposure involving continuous and partial visual scanning. A retrospective observational study was conducted among 150 professional long-distance bus drivers in Bangladesh. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire focusing on demographic characteristics, occupational driving history, daily driving duration, self-reported ocular discomfort, and use of eye medications. The participants were aged between 40 and 70 years and had 20–30 years of professional driving experience. Descriptive analysis was performed to summarize the findings. The respondents reported driving for approximately 8–12 hours daily, and all participants were male. Interestingly, none of the drivers reported experiencing eye pain or visual discomfort immediately after long-distance driving with continuous road observation, mirror checking, peripheral monitoring, and dynamic focus adjustment. Furthermore, none of the participants reported using ophthalmic medications, including eye drops or oral treatments for eye-related problems. These findings suggest preserved subjective ocular comfort despite prolonged occupational visual exposure. This study provides a novel occupational health perspective suggesting that experienced long-distance bus drivers may maintain subjective ocular comfort through adaptive eye movement patterns and continuous visual scanning behavior. Professional driving may function as a form of practical visual training that supports visual attention and eye muscle coordination over time, which may also be followed by other professionals. To better understand this issue, it is recommended that future research focus on experimental studies, especially through comparisons with other professions.
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