The long-simmering controversy over how medical examiners decide when they should send truck drivers at risk for obstructive sleep apnea to undergo costly lab sleep studies is heating up again.
November 3, 2022sleep apnea
Government, Business, Safety 
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Public Comments Point to Confusion Over Sleep Apnea Proposal
courtneyk/Getty Images Government, Business, Safety 
Untreated sleep apnea can cause fatigue and poses risks to safety and driver health. (HireRight)
Treating Sleep Apnea for Truck Drivers Remains a Thorny Issue
Untreated sleep apnea can cause fatigue and poses risks to safety and driver health. (HireRight)Researchers believe many truck drivers on U.S. highways have untreated sleep apnea, which remains a public safety danger and a serious driver health issue.
March 14, 2022 Government, Business, Technology, Safety 
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FMCSA Advised to Give Drivers 90 Days to Replace Recalled CPAP Devices
Smederevac — Getty ImagesA medical advisory board to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has recommended that medical examiners be permitted to offer truck drivers alternative treatment options to sleep apnea machines that are subject to a massive recall.
September 30, 2021 Government, Business, Safety 
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FMCSA Medical Board to Review Recalled CPAP Machines
kaipong/Getty ImagesMembers of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s medical review board are due to address uncertainties connected to a voluntary recall of some continuous positive air pressure machines, warning that truck drivers using them face potential health risks.
September 16, 2021 Government, Business, Safety 
A patient in a sleep apnea study. (pastorscott/Getty Images)
FMCSA Responds to Medical Board on Sleep Apnea Guidance
A patient in a sleep apnea study. (pastorscott/Getty Images)The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is expanding access to information about obstructive sleep apnea for medical professionals who conduct medical examinations for truck drivers.
June 10, 2021 Government, Business, Safety 
A man wears a C-Pap machine. (no_limit_pictures/Getty Images)
Nearly 49% of CMV Drivers Could Be at Risk for Sleep Apnea, Study Says
A man wears a C-Pap machine. (no_limit_pictures/Getty Images)A new obstructive sleep apnea study of 20,000 drivers using a more comprehensive screening evaluation method estimated that nearly 49% of commercial motor vehicle drivers could be at risk for obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that can cause sleepiness while driving.
January 12, 2021 Government, Business, Safety 
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Driver’s Untreated Sleep Apnea Contributed to 2018 Fatal Crash, NTSB Says
CPAP machine by cherrybeans/Getty ImagesA National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded that lack of a “robust medical certification evaluation process” on the federal level to identify and treat commercial drivers at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea was one of three safety issues that contributed to a fatal, multivehicle heavy truck-involved crash in 2018.
July 9, 2020 Government, Safety 
Blumenthal by Zach Gibson/Bloomberg
Sen. Blumenthal Blasts Withdrawal of Sleep Apnea Policy
Blumenthal by Zach Gibson/BloombergThe determination by federal investigators that two high-profile train collisions in New York and New Jersey were the result of undiagnosed sleep apnea prompted a member of the Senate Commerce Committee to rebuke the Trump administration’s withdrawal of a potential new policy on the sleep disorder.
February 7, 2018 Government, Safety 
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Inaction on Sleep Apnea Draws Ire of NTSB
Rachel Tayse/Flickr Just months after U.S. rail and highway regulators said they were withdrawing plans to screen truckers and engineers for a dangerous sleep disorder, accident investigators believe that it contributed to two New York-area transit crashes.
February 6, 2018 Perspective
Opinion: Debunking Common Myths About Sleep Apnea
As the National Transportation Safety Board cites sleep apnea as a factor in New York City-area train crashes, the need for sleep apnea testing and treatment regulations will once again come to the forefront. The NTSB has been advocating for measures to reduce fatigue-related accidents in the transportation industry for years.
October 2, 2017