Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/204210
Voices The long road for apnea regulation VIA OVERDRIVEONLINE.COM E.F. McHenry: Like a staged game, this bill just nudges FMCSA to get to it with the appearance of making everything adversarial and controversial. I'm convinced [less-formal] guidance would have caused real controversy and litigation in the long run and forestalled a formal rule for many years, possibly even until the next decade, if at all. The payoff to the main players in the Congress and Senate HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TESTED FOR SLEEP APNEA? No OverdriveOnline.com poll President Obama on Oct. 15 signed a sleep apnea bill that forbids the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from using guidance alone to address sleep apnea screening for commercial drivers. The law does not mandate FMCSA to make a sleep apnea screening rule. Rather, it requires that if the agency takes action, it must do so via the formal rulemaking process rather than guidance, a less-involved path that would have excluded much input from the industry or the general public. FMCSA, however, says it will pursue full rulemaking following thorough analysis. Why were trucking organizations so happy about this? It makes it highly likely that any final requirements tying the condition to medical certification for the CDL would be longer in coming, and they'd at least have all options on the table for official input. Many readers weren't so sunny on the bill, responding in volume to the latest news. Here's a roundup of some viewpoints: 61% Yes, my employer/ leasing fleet required testing after screening 4% No, but it has been recommended Yes, I initiated testing on my own or in consult with my doctor 4% 31% "CPAP saved my life," wrote Bill McVay, responding to the question posed by this poll, which showed a third of drivers have been tested for sleep apnea. Others responding positively to treatment included Edward Lomas, who has a CPAP machine and uses it: "It's not as bad as you think." Commenting as "Truckertwotimes": Out of two tests I had, one said I had it, so I bought my own machine, and it didn't help. Another test later said I didn't have it, and that doctor said there isn't any gray area, either. You have it or you don't, and either the machine works or it doesn't. Commenting as "George": My wife was overweight and used a CPAP machine. Two years ago, she had bariatric surgery and lost weight. About four months after her surgery, she no longer required the breathing machine. Others we know who were diabetic had similar procedures and no longer require treatment for diabetes. Don Lanier: Drivers must get involved and be part of this rulemaking and oppose this mandate, its implementation and its abuse. The stigma of overweight drivers being unsafe is false and wrong. VIA OVERDRIVE'S FACEBOOK PAGE John McCormack: How about sleep apnea testing for non-commercial drivers? Let's see if that one would pass. Scan the QR to download the brief text of the sleep apnea bill, or search "Language of the sleep apnea bill" at OverdriveOnline.com. is crystal clear! Commenting as "GSP": This gives them a chance to say they did something while they do nothing about the real issues that threaten this country. Many people with sleep apnea have been able to get away from the condition simply by dropping excess pounds. Scan the QR for a video interview with Landstar-leased owner-operator Earl Atlandt discussing weight loss and health tips. Otherwise, search "breaking free of apnea" on OverdriveOnline. com for the video. 4 | Overdrive | November 2013 Voices_1113.indd 4 10/30/13 3:13 PM