Many truck drivers have utilized a 30-day extension to speak out on a potential sleep apnea regulation.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Federal Railroad Administration published the advanced notice of public rulemaking in the Federal Register on March 10, seeking information regarding the evaluation of safety sensitive personnel for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea.
The original comment period was scheduled to end June 8 but was extended to July 8 after the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and others requested more time.
Dozens of the 550-plus comments posted on the federal docket were submitted after June 8. Official comments from OOIDA will be coming in the next couple of days.
Many drivers have questioned whether sleep apnea is the true culprit in fatality crashes.
“Is sleep apnea testing really needed?” Larry Hall wrote in his comments submitted June 20. “Having been in the trucking industry for nearly 40 years and having seen all kinds of accidents, I do not necessarily believe it’s needed … In 40 years, I am aware of three accidents where the driver fell asleep. They were all due to being overworked without enough sleep, not due to sleep apnea.”
Hall’s comment echoes some of the feedback provided at a series of public listening sessions.
According to research on sleep apnea published by FMCSA and authored by Dr. Allan Pack of the University of Pennsylvania, there is no statistical evidence in these data to suggest that the presence of sleep apnea significantly increases the likelihood or the risk of motor vehicle crashes.
Without a proven link between sleep apnea and an increase in crashes, many drivers said mandatory testing would be an unnecessary financial burden. Drivers have reported paying thousands of dollars’ worth of out-of-pocket fees for sleep studies and equipment. The cost is increased when you consider the work time that is lost to conduct sleep studies and other testing.
“The required testing of sleep apnea for commercial motor vehicle drivers puts an unfair cost burden on the driver and is discriminatory toward one class of driver,” Christopher Stanton wrote.
Some drivers point to faulty regulations as being the true culprit for fatigue.
“Sleep apnea is not causing driver fatigue,” Tim Hill wrote. “The current hours of service rules require drivers to drive when they are fatigued. At one time, drivers were allowed to split their 10 hours duty time, allowing them to take a nap if they got fatigued without going against their driving time. Today, once a driver starts his on-duty time, he cannot take a break without it affecting his on-duty time, thus affecting his ability to drive and earn money. This forces a driver to drive tired. It is that simple.”
The extended comment period also provided proponents of a sleep apnea regulation to argue their case for more mandatory testing.
The American Association of Sleep Technologists wrote that a sleep apnea testing mandate “should not be considered punitive to commercial motor vehicle drivers. Rather, considering the decreased accident rates and overall health benefits that accrue when obstructive sleep apnea patients are treated, the goal should be to provide needed care to workers who suffer from a sleep disorder. The AAST hopes that over time, all healthcare providers will incorporate sleep disorders screening and evaluation into routine care.”
Written comments regarding possible sleep apnea requirements, Docket No. FMCSA-2015-0419, can be submitted at the Regulations.gov website. You are asked to identify whether you are in the transportation industry or medical profession, but you can choose to remain anonymous.
By Mark Schremmer, Land Line staff writer
By Mark Schremmer, Land Line staff writer
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