#SLEEP EXPERT TRUCK DRIVERS#
#SLEEP EXPERT TRUCK DRIVER#

Food and Drug Administration announced a voluntary recall by Philips Respironics Inc., a CPAP provider based in Murrysville, Pa., that has provided the machines used by up to an estimated 2 million drivers in the United States who were suddenly without their treatment. Age 42 or older male or post-menopausal femaleĪ problem with some CPAP machines hasn’t helped efforts to control the problem.Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid, untreated).A history of stroke, coronary artery disease or arrhythmias.A male neck size greater than 17 inches or female neck size greater than 15.5 inches.The more common apnea risk factors identified by the medical review board include: It also is a hot potato among some drivers due to the cost of sleep studies and complaints by others that some can’t tolerate the most effective treatment - using a continuous positive airway pressure machine, or CPAP. It remains a major problem in the trucking industry because it can cause dangerous fatigue when drivers are behind the wheel. These pauses in breathing can last at least 10 seconds or more and can occur up to 400 times a night, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Most motor carriers seem to have been caught somewhere in the middle, not fighting regulation, but wanting the regulators to take into consideration the nature of their businesses.Īccording to the medical books, sleep apnea is a breathing-related sleep disorder that causes brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. Some drivers seemingly want to ignore the condition - or don’t know they have it - and physicians and trucking regulators have been in a tug of war over how it is diagnosed, treated and regulated, or not regulated.

#SLEEP EXPERT TRUCK DRIVER#

highways have untreated sleep apnea, which remains a public safety danger and a serious driver health issue.įor years, diagnosing and treating sleep apnea has been a delicate and visceral dance among drivers, physicians, motor carriers and federal trucking regulators. Researchers believe many truck drivers on U.S. Over the years, the Schneider sleep apnea program, lauded in recent research studies as an effective way to identify and treat drivers with apnea and cut medical costs, has continued as a model method to address the potentially life-threatening and too often unrecognized and undiagnosed condition. “It was good for their long-term health, it was good for alertness and safety, and it was certainly the right thing to do.” “In our minds, this was a win-win across the board,” DiSalvi said. Drivers with sleep apnea can keep CPAP machines in their truck cabs to treat the condition. (Mike Roemer for Schneider National)Īfter several internal pilot projects, the company in 2006 began a first-of-its-kind sweeping program to identify those drivers at risk of apnea, sending them to clinics at locations nationwide for sleep studies and subsequent treatment - all at no cost to the drivers.

Sleep expert truck