WASHINGTON — Drivers who skimp on just a couple of hours of sleep nearly double the risk of a crash, making drowsy driving about as dangerous as drunken driving, according to a report released Dec. 6.

Two Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration advisory committees forwarded on Oct. 24 a slate of comprehensive moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea risk factor recommendations that the agency could use in a formal regulatory requirement for truck and bus drivers to submit to costly diagnostic sleep studies.

An appeals court has rejected claims by an obese truck driver that he should not have been required by his employer to submit to a sleep study to determine if he had obstructive sleep apnea.

An appeals court has rejected claims by an obese truck driver that he should not have been required by his employer to submit to a sleep study to determine if he had sleep apnea.

Commercial truck drivers who get treatment for obstructive sleep apnea for two years may reduce their crash risk to the level of drivers without apnea, a study from Italy suggests.

Top medical advisers to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have recommended a slate of sleep apnea guidelines that would require truck drivers to participate in costly diagnostic sleep studies if they have a body mass index of 40 or higher, experienced excessive fatigue or sleepiness while driving or have been in a sleep-related accident.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s top medical advisers have recommended a slate of sleep apnea guidelines that would require truck drivers to take costly diagnostic sleep studies if they have a body mass index of 40 or higher, have experienced excessive fatigue or sleepiness while driving, or have been in a sleep-related crash.

Who better to talk about driver health and wellness than men who are tops in their field? Competitive powerlifter Ralph Garcia, a professional driver for ABF Freight System with 3.5 million accident-free miles, and world-class swimmer and triathlete Siphiwe Baleka, a driver/trainer from Prime Inc., head up our LiveOnWeb panel on Driver Health and Wellness From A to Zzzzz. Watch the replay.

More than half of drivers who have been asked to participate in sleep apnea studies paid more than 150% of their median weekly pay to do so, a survey released by the American Transportation Research Institute on May 26 revealed.