Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/441527
26 | Overdrive | January 2015 Logbook Medical examiners in the National Registry of Certified Medical Examin- ers soon will receive a bulletin from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin- istration to clarify current federal rules – or lack thereof – for screening and testing drivers for sleep apnea. According to a letter from Scott Dar- ling, acting FMCSA administrator, the bulletin will remind examiners there is © 2015 CAT Scale Company Read more about The CAT Scale Guarantee at www.catscaleguarantee.com. 1-877-CAT-SCALE (228-7225) www.catscale.com CAT Scale's Weigh My Truck app allows you to weigh and pay for your transaction using your smartphone. Find out more at weighmytruck.com. CAT OD 122214b_Layout 1 12/22/14 11:33 AM Page 1 Untitled-3 1 12/22/14 1:48 PM FMCSA to clarify apnea screening, testing no agency guidance regarding apnea testing, which was ham- mered home by a 2013 law. It also will encourage examin- ers to explain to drivers that referring them to sleep apnea specialists is being done based on their judgment as medical professionals and not because of FMCSA regulations. The letter was sent to U.S. Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-La.) and Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) in response to a letter from the two congressmen to Darling. Bucshon and Lipinski wrote that FMCSA-approved medical examiners were not adhering to the 2013 law prohibiting the agency from issuing guidance, in lieu of a formal rule, regarding sleep apnea screening and testing for truck drivers. They blamed some organizations responsi- ble for training the examiners to perform driver physicals. Darling, however, wrote that while FMCSA has a list of topics that must be covered in training courses, it does not bar organizations from presenting more information to the examiners. FMCSA "neither reviews nor approves training materials," he wrote. The current FMCSA guide- lines that medical examiners use were issued in October 2000. The guidelines direct examiners to refer drivers to sleep apnea specialists if they detect respiratory dysfunction such as sleep apnea that could impact a driver's safety. Darling said FMCSA planned to publish a notice to request information from stakeholders to help determine the costs and safety benefits of a sleep apnea screening rule. – James Jaillet