In the fall of 2013, a bill was signed into law requiring that the formal rule-making process be followed regarding sleep apnea screening, testing, and treatment of truckers and other commercial motor vehicle operators and forbidding the issuance of any informal guidance on this subject. Now, the rule-making process is beginning, though it is still in an extremely early stage.
So far, according to the February 2016 Significant Rulemaking Report on the U.S. Department of Transportation website, Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) 2126-AB88 (“Evaluation of Safety-Sensitive Personnel for Moderate-to-Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea”) cleared the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on February 3, 2016. (It arrived at the OMB on December 11, 2015.)
This clearance clears the way for the publication of the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), which is also known as a “notice of intent” or a “request for comments.” Sleep Review will alert our readers when this request for comments is published on the Federal Register’s regulations.gov site, at which point it will be important for sleep medicine professionals’ to make their voices heard on this important issue.
The provided abstract says,
“The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) request data and information concerning the prevalence of moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among individuals occupying safety sensitive positions in rail and highway transportation. FMCSA and FRA also request information about the potential economic impact and safety benefits associated with regulatory actions that would result in transportation workers in these positions, who exhibit multiple risk factors for OSA, undergoing evaluation by a healthcare professional with expertise in sleep disorders, and subsequent treatment.”
The Significant Rulemaking Report indicates that the ANPRM expected publication date was February 12, 2016; however, a status check this morning showed that it has not yet been published.
Sree Roy is editor of Sleep Review.
This report is bias on overweight people and segregates people and there is no clear way to check for sleep apnea or to screen under the guidelines that companies are presently using and when you go for another job they want to rescreen you there’s a lot of skinny people out of here that have sleep apnea I do not think that the screening should be based on body mass index at all they need to find a precise way of measuring sleep apnea
I believe the most common thing for sleep that hurts a truck driver the most I’ve been out here 38 years is split shifting are you that don’t know what that means driving at day one day night the next day the next night the next that leads to driver fatigue more than anything
I agree with Charles!
The trigger is BMI that gets neck circumference measured. If 17″ or greater your card is approved for 3 months even if you pass everything else for two year certification.
In the three months you need to either A. Schedule an in home contractor visit to hook you up to test machine. Possibly $1,000 or more. Sleep then they come by and get device in morning. B. Go to a sleep lab and get tested for avg. $2,625 cost.
Per OOIDA ABOUT 70% OF insurance companies WILL NOT COVER THIS TEST so 100% out of pocket non reimburse.
If you fail or refuse test medical is denied and CDL is dropped to car status. If you need a CPAP machine it’s about $700-$1825 plus maintenance fee’s. There is a microchip in device per DOT that records use and time. Must be used for no less than 4 hours and 70% or more of the week.
Here is the other part of BMI, if say you are 6’0″ and say 330lb. and are a body builder or fat at same height and weight, you are “overweight” and are required to take test.
So appropriate weight for a man 6’0″? Try 188lb. Not likely in this industry.
Now the FMCSA admits in their research openly that there is no statistic increase in risk of an accident caused by sleep apnea vs fatigue which in 2012 was 1.7% of accidents caused by fatigue. Look up OOIDA stance of sleep apnea.
http://www.ooida.com/OOIDA%20Foundation/Issues/sleepapnea.asp
Even the FMCSA admits there is no statistic evidence for increase risk of an accident vs fatigue…
http://www.ooida.com/OOIDA%20Foundation/Issues/sleepapnea.asp
BMI test needs to be the same as the Military..Why ‘re-invent the wheel.. this is a more accurate test…How much did the government waste on holding off by not using Military Standards…$$$$.