Two federal trucking safety panels have advised the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that the agency should toughen its approach to the diagnosis and treatment of truck drivers who suffer from sleep apnea.
The recommendations were made by the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee and the Medical Review Board. Both committees will also collaborate to produce final recommendations for a rule that will set the standards for the evaluation of drivers for sleep apnea. The recommendations made by the boards could include such conditions as immediate disqualification of a truck driver if he falls asleep at the wheel of a truck, or is involved in an accident caused by fatigue. The recommendations will also provide for a driver to get a 60-day conditional while he undergoes an evaluation or treatment for the condition.
The Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee and Medical Review Board Reform subcommittee will meet in January, with the goal of coming up with recommendations for sleep apnea evaluation standards. Specifically, the two committees want the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to require that truck drivers with a body mass index of 35 or more be mandatorily evaluated for sleep apnea.
Obesity is one of the most common risk factors for sleep apnea, and is a widespread problem among the truck driver population. According to some studies by Harvard Medical School, the truck accident risk for a person who suffers from sleep apnea is about 242% greater than for a person who does not suffer from the disorder. This makes it imperative that the trucking industry and federal trucking safety regulators invest in the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea among truckers.
Vuk Vujasinovic is a Houston truck accident lawyer, representing persons injured in commercial trucking accidents in the Houston region, across Texas and nationwide.
Vuk Vujasinovic is a Board Certified Houston personal injury attorney who practices Houston auto accident and other personal injury cases.
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