Should Truckers with Sleep Apnea be Prevented from Driving our Pearland, TX Roads?
One of the big controversies right now regarding the trucking industry is the problem of sleep apnea and its role in causing truck accidents. (Another big controversy involves the flood of Mexican trucks that will be driving freely over our borders under NAFTA. But that’s a topic for another day and another blog.)
The sleep apnea controversy revolves around several questions.
Does sleep apnea put truckers at a greater risk for truck wrecks?
Should people with sleep apnea be allowed to drive trucks?
What can we do to keep truckers with sleep apnea from causing truck wrecks?
1) The answer to the first question remains inconclusive. One group contends that truckers with sleep apnea have a risk of truck accidents that’s 7 times greater than that of those without sleep apnea. But the official government study indicates that only those with a severe sleep apnea disorder are at risk and only in relation to severe accidents.
2) Many say no. One woman who lost her husband to injuries from a truck accident where the trucker likely fell asleep at the wheel has started a foundation to raise awareness regarding the sleep apnea problem.
3) The government has already made regulations to limit truckers’ consecutive driving hours. The regulations require regular rest breaks and keeping of a logbook regarding hours and miles traveled. Further regulations, which restrict truckers even further, are under consideration. A decision by the FMCSA is expected later this month.
But let’s not forget that truckers’ aren’t the only people with sleep apnea problems. Much of the general population possesses this disorder too. And there are 3 distinct types of sleep apnea disorder. OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea) is the type that provides a focal point for the controversy. And sleep apnea is by no means the only cause of driver fatigue. And medications like sleep aids that people use to combat sleep-related disorders can cause as many problems as the disorders themselves.
Clearly, there’s no simple solution to the issue of the sleep apnea affected truckers who drive our Pearland, TX roads. But how often do you really find a simple solution to any complex problem?