Congress Sends Apnea Bill to President; Measure Requires FMCSA Rulemaking
This story appears in the Oct. 14 print edition of Transport Topics.
Congress has passed and sent to President Obama for his signature legislation to require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to conduct a full rulemaking process on the testing and treatment of truck drivers for sleep apnea, rather than issuing guidance.
Despite the ongoing federal government shutdown, the Senate on Oct. 4 approved the bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).
The House approved its bill on Sept. 26, two weeks after the measure was introduced in that chamber by Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.).
The two congressmen said in a letter to their House colleagues that the trucking industry estimates “the impact of screening, diagnosis, and treatment for obstructive sleep apnea could exceed $1 billion annually.”
“We are very pleased that the bill was unanimously approved by both the Senate and House and urge President Obama to sign it into law quickly,” ATA President Bill Graves said.
Other supporters included the Teamsters union and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
“Small-business truckers thank the Senate for its bipartisan support of this legislation, especially during these tense times across the aisles in Congress,” said OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer.
FMCSA previously has indicated it planned to issue guidance to carriers and medical personnel on how to test truck drivers for the disorder.
But even before the House voted on the apnea bill, FMCSA announced it would go through the full rulemaking process.
The bill Congress sent to the president does not say FMCSA must issue regulations on the sleep apnea issue. However, the measure does say that if the agency does so, it must go through the full rulemaking process.
The process would require input from industry groups, medical personnel, apnea researchers, and labor and highway-safety interest groups.
Sleep apnea should be added to the list of medical conditions doctors check for when screening licensed commercial drivers, said Henry Jasny, vice president and general counsel for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
“This is important both for the health of the driver and to ensure that drivers with sleep disorders get proper medical attention so they do not drive while fatigued,” Jasny said.
“The bill makes it clear that the FMCSA should get on with the job of regulating this issue by requiring screening . . . and medical treatment for those drivers who have sleep apnea,” Jasny added.
Apnea is a sleep disorder in which sufficient air fails to reach a person’s lungs, causing him or her to awaken several times during what otherwise would be deep sleep.
Waking repeatedly can leave an apnea sufferer fatigued the following day, and FMCSA has found that fatigue can be a factor in crashes involving truck drivers.
Likewise, obesity is a health risk for drivers because they are largely sedentary throughout the workday, and medical researchers have documented a correlation between obesity and sleep apnea.
