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Proposal to tie sleep apnea testing with body mass index
December 7, 2011
| by: Todd Dills
A proposal that would tie sleep apnea screening with body mass index emerged from a meeting Wednesday, Dec. 7, of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration safety and medical groups.
Under a guidance supported by the FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee and Medical Review Board medical examiners would refer for evaluation for obstructive sleep apnea any interstate commercial driver with a BMI measurement of 35 or above (a 6-foot-tall, 258-pound driver has a BMI of 35).
The guidance comes on the heels of three separate sets of recommendations the agency has received in recent years with varying screening specifications, typically involving a BMI measurement between 30 and 35 and other criteria, including several risk factors.
A second guidance would immediately disqualify drivers meeting any of five criteria:
- Having reported excessive daytime sleepiness.
- Having had an accident associated with falling asleep.
- Exhibiting apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) scores of 20 or greater, until they’ve had effective treatment.
- Having had surgery to correct apnea and awaiting post-operative evaluation.
- Individuals who have been found to be effectively noncompliant with their treatment.
Both short-term guidances are intended as stop-gaps until further new rulemaking officially codifies sleep disorders into the regulations, with a draft to emerge from a MCSAC and MRB joint subcommittee as early as February.
Medical experts began making a case for the correlation between drivers with moderate to severe sleep apnea and increased crash risk early on in the daylong meeting.
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[...] testing with body mass index var cwfl = "http://www.truckingboards.com/forum/cwfl.htm"; Proposal to tie sleep apnea testing with body mass index | Truckers News | Trucking News, Health &am… They will not stop till us fat boys are off the [...]
[...] Proposal To Tie Sleep Apnea Testing With Body Mass var cwfl = "http://www.truckingboards.com/forum/cwfl.htm"; Proposal to tie sleep apnea testing with body mass index | Truckers News | Trucking News, Health &am… [...]
This is just another gimmick to pry more money out of your pocket.The reason people can’t sleep is because the goverment is constanly trying to think of new ways to get more money out of us.Leave the trucking industrie alone and we will sleep just fine.
it doesn’t matter if one has sleep apnea or not. its common sense…if a driver is tired or drowsy, park and sleep. however if sleep apnea is present, its wise to get Treatment for other health reasons
> Marty Marsh:
It’s not the sleeping part they are worried about, it is the tucks still moving while you are sleeping.
>frank m:
Agreed… Sleep Apnea effects us whether you want to believe it or not. Add a high BMI ( yeah I’m Fat too), any cardiac issues (diabetes, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure – luckily I have none of these) and snoring and you have 60+% chance of having severe Sleep Apnea.
MrB – Sleep Apnea and CPAP user
[...] Fοr reference, Truckers News reported thаt a 6-foot-tall motorist whο weighs 258 pounds hаѕ a BMI οf 35. [...]
Mr Bob,obviouly you think that sleep apnea effects all of us,I don’t snore myself but my wife does,and when she does she is out like a light which is just opposite of what you and they are saying.Also to suggest that everyone should be tested for this is nothing more than a gimmick to get more money out of the trucking industry.Also,even someone with this problem will realize they are to tired to drive and pull over,so your predictions of drivers sleeping while the truck is moving is a bunch of garbage,unless you have data showing this happens all the time.
Mr Bob,tell me what you do for a living.
I’ve been a truck driver for 39 years and I know a scam when I see one.
mrtmrsh@gmail.com
[...] is a sleep disorder where a person may stop breathing on and off throughout the night, leading to daytime sleepiness because of the disturbed [...]
[...] is a sleep disorder where a person may stop breathing on and off throughout the night, leading to daytime sleepiness because of the disturbed [...]
[...] is a sleep disorder where a person may stop breathing on and off throughout the night, leading to daytime sleepiness because of the disturbed [...]
[...] that is a nap commotion where a chairman might stop respirating on and off via a night, heading to daytime sleepiness since of a uneasy [...]
Another peripheral trying to cash in on the trucking industry! Isn’t it amazing how more and more requirements/regulations/laws are loaded on top of the industry stealing money that under paid drivers have been waiting for for decades now.
DOT treats drivers like third class citizens wanting to treat truck drivers like ariline pilots yet treating them like criminals that are guilty until proven innocent in almost any and every circumstance.
HazMat drivers have been VETTED by the TSA yet they get frisked/screened before boarding a plane by who> The TSA! These drivers PAID for the HAZMAT and background checks yet they can’t board a plane though they have been cleared to drive dangerous products around our nation? So much for being treated like a pilot! LOL!
Finally, safety regulations have all but CHOKED the little guy out of business. Maybe the DOT is intent on creating a transporation cartel amonsgt the biggest trucking companys and could care less about the independent.
Is there ANYONE? Seriously, anyone at the Fed DOT that has ever driven a truck for a living? That has been subjected to risking their career by driving in California? or New York?
I have to admit, being treated like a Pilot would be alot better than being treated like a scumdog thirdclass citizen like we drivers get treated. I recently walked away from my HazMat and fortunately, I am in a postion to walk away from driving altogether and this BOGUS PILING onto the trucking industry with what? Sleep apnea testing?
Licensing+ permitting+ unique State and Fed requirments+ insurance+ bogus testing like Sleep Apnea, Physicals+ fuel costs + taxes+ any fines or penaltys+ load unload as applicable+ tolls+ misc. and whats left goes to the driver who is then taxed again for income.
I hope green peppers go to 5 bucks a piece so someone in a regulatory postion decides to do a head from rear end extraction on him/herself and takes a look around at the absolute unreasonable choke hold DOT has on the industry.
the DOT very clearly proves what unelected government entities are capable of when no checks and balances have been built into the process.