Sleep Apnea testing coming from DOT for more occupations

I'm confused, I thought the commercial trucking world was already under mandatory OSA screening?

There was a recent article on how jacked up the program was.
 
I wonder why they don't require it for drivers of non-commercial motor vehicles like they do for pilots of non-commercial aircraft? ;)
 
Palmpilot said:
I wonder why they don't require it for drivers of non-commercial motor vehicles like they do for pilots of non-commercial aircraft? ;)
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Because unless you live right next to an interstate you don't have to worry about somebody crashing into your house.
 
Perhaps if more people just got in shape, apnea wouldn't be such a problem. Gee, hope I didn't bodyshame anyone.
 
ateamer said:
Perhaps if more people just got in shape, apnea wouldn't be such a problem. Gee, hope I didn't bodyshame anyone.
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Get in shape is a stretch and most likely a false correlation. I have sleep apnea (treated) and yeah, I'm not In shape. But, I've had OSA probably all my life, including when I was in the best shape of my life playing football and wresting. Still had it.
So, nice try.
 
gkainz said:
Get in shape is a stretch and most likely a false correlation. I have sleep apnea (treated) and yeah, I'm not In shape. But, I've had OSA probably all my life, including when I was in the best shape of my life playing football and wresting. Still had it.
So, nice try.
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I wouldn't say 'most likely false'.

It is no secret that the rise in OSA correlates to the expansion of American waist lines. Doc Bruce has even pointed that out before the FAA added the screening.

That said, you are correct: weight is by no means the only factor. Plenty of people have OSA and are nowhere near overweight. I have a very fit/thin friend with OSA who runs marathons.

But, as Bruce pointed out, the odds of having developing OSA increase as your BMI increases. It's kind of like diabetes. There are plenty of people who are thin and have diabetes, but there are a whole lot more overweight folks who develop it.
 
Art VanDelay said:
Are you a not a native English speaker ? If I were to say "I hope I'm not offending anyone" would you take that to mean that I am offending myself ?????
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Those questions don't follow from what I wrote.
 
Art VanDelay said:
Because unless you live right next to an interstate you don't have to worry about somebody crashing into your house.
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I'm not worried about interstates, it's intersections, lane changes, etc where the carnage occurs.


End of the day saftey doesn't exist, not all the turtles make it to the ocean, and all that.
 
Art VanDelay said:
"Gee I hope I didn't bodyshame anyone" does not mean he is shaming himself......Are you able to follow that ??????
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When you take that statement together with the one that immediately preceded it, it appears to me to be sarcasm, implying that he's ashamed of people who don't meet the standards he has set for them.
 
Palmpilot said:
When you take that statement together with the one that immediately preceded it, it appears to me to be sarcasm, implying that he's ashamed of people who don't meet the standards he has set for them.
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You mean the standards DOT will set for them.

The Collective Hath Spoken, apparently.
 
denverpilot said:
You mean the standards DOT will set for them.

The Collective Hath Spoken, apparently.
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You have a point. On the other hand, DOT doesn't set standards for who should be ashamed, just who should have driving privileges.
 
Palmpilot said:
You have a point. On the other hand, DOT doesn't set standards for who should be ashamed, just who should have driving privileges.
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If they promulgated standards like FAA's, interstate commerce would grind to a halt. I don't think there is any other profession (other than sumo wrestlers, perhaps) with such a high percentage of heavy people. I suspect that it comes from sitting on one's ass all day and eating truck stop food. The combination doesn't make for a svelte physique.

As an aside, I recall a few years ago that the DOT was trying to encourage truck stops to serve healthier food and introduce mini-gyms where drivers could work out. I don't know what came of it.

Rich
 
RJM62 said:
...As an aside, I recall a few years ago that the DOT was trying to encourage truck stops to serve healthier food and introduce mini-gyms where drivers could work out. I don't know what came of it.

Rich
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Requiring nutritional labeling would help. That's what eventually worked for me.
 
The big name in truck stops out here is Love's. They are a "Travel Center", not a "truck stop".

They do try to have healthy options:

https://www.loves.com/en/news/loves-blog/2016/may/eat-more-fruit-staying-healthy-on-the-road

On long trips I usually look for a Love's. Gas is reasonably priced, and lots of pumps - cars in the front and semis around back. They usually have a fast food side, they have a contract with Subway, and coolers with other options. I haven't seen one yet with a gym.
 
RJM62 said:
If they promulgated standards like FAA's, interstate commerce would grind to a halt. I don't think there is any other profession (other than sumo wrestlers, perhaps) with such a high percentage of heavy people. I suspect that it comes from sitting on one's ass all day and eating truck stop food. The combination doesn't make for a svelte physique.

As an aside, I recall a few years ago that the DOT was trying to encourage truck stops to serve healthier food and introduce mini-gyms where drivers could work out. I don't know what came of it.

Rich
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I know three long term drivers who aren't any heavier than most folk. One is a twig and likes to lift weights. They tend to take reasonable care of themselves.

Matthew said:
The big name in truck stops out here is Love's. They are a "Travel Center", not a "truck stop".

They do try to have healthy options:

https://www.loves.com/en/news/loves-blog/2016/may/eat-more-fruit-staying-healthy-on-the-road

On long trips I usually look for a Love's. Gas is reasonably priced, and lots of pumps - cars in the front and semis around back. They usually have a fast food side, they have a contract with Subway, and coolers with other options. I haven't seen one yet with a gym.
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Loves has a Subway contract. The other truck stop big brand has a contract with Denny's. They're all about the same. Corporate homogeny has come to truck stops over the last decade or so. The big names try to keep the places nearly identical compared to years ago when different owners and different names graced the various truck stops.

Those three long term drivers I mentioned above wouldn't bother with truck stop food for a number of reasons including health but also because they have mini-fridges or other cooling devices on board and they're all tightwads like most of us here. They'd rather make a sandwich and brew their own coffee.

They usually stock up on stuff they'd rather eat and make for themselves at WalMart during trips, if they didn't bring it to the truck from home, if they had some time off between trips.

@flyingcheesehead could probably give some insight into how most normal truckers would eat who weren't eating everything from a diner. That gets old really fast, from everyone I've ever talked to about it.
 
^^^^

Last time we stopped at a Love's, a couple months ago, I saw at least one OTR driver in a corner, by himself, with his lunchbox, and a Tupperware container of salad. Everyone else in the place looked like they parked in the front, with the cars.
 
denverpilot said:
Loves has a Subway contract. The other truck stop big brand has a contract with Denny's. They're all about the same. Corporate homogeny has come to truck stops over the last decade or so. The big names try to keep the places nearly identical compared to years ago when different owners and different names graced the various truck stops.
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JOOC, would that other brand by any chance be Pilot? ;)

I'm asking not because of the (lame) pun but because I really don't know who the big names are nationwide. Pilot was quite big in Michigan and I could swear I saw one out here but I don't believe they are anywhere near as numerous. Then again, VT is a little off the beaten track for long haulers.
 
Love's, Pilot/Flying J, and Travel Centers of America ("TA") are the names I'm familiar with.
 
Fearless Tower said:
I'm confused, I thought the commercial trucking world was already under mandatory OSA screening?
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I have my CDL so I cam move my own company's trucks if needed but I am not a "driver"...current OSA screening regs only kick in at certain BMI and neck diameter. This is proposing screening for ALL drivers.

Biggest problem is that the FMCSA treats all commercial drivers the same. Unlike in aviation where we have first-third class medicals for different range of operations FMCSA treats everyone like they are a full time OTR driver sitting behind the wheel of an 80,000 lb truck for 14 hours every day.

Their one size fits all approach is killing a lot of small businesses that don't fit the mold.
 
Shawn said:
I have my CDL so I cam move my own company's trucks if needed but I am not a "driver"...current OSA screening regs only kick in at certain BMI and neck diameter. This is proposing screening for ALL drivers.

Biggest problem is that the FMCSA treats all commercial drivers the same. Unlike in aviation where we have first-third class medicals for different range of operations FMCSA treats everyone like they are a full time OTR driver sitting behind the wheel of an 80,000 lb truck for 14 hours every day.

Their one size fits all approach is killing a lot of small businesses that don't fit the mold.
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That was my situation. I had a CDL with Tank and HazMat endorsements, but I wasn't a full-time driver. I pulled radio masts and towers, along with the welding equipment and gases needed to do the jobs, only when we were doing that sort of work.

I also did some railroad weed control from time to time when a friend of mine in that business needed an extra body. I'd drive the high-rail tank truck to the rail, mount it, set the speed, lower the booms, fire up the sprayer, and proceed along the rail spraying herbicides until the next fill point. Once the rig got going it was almost completely computer-controlled. All I had to do was keep watch, stop the spray system when passing over water, get off the track when dispatch told me to, and enjoy the scenery.

I always thought the DOT physical was a lot more reasonably handled than the FAA physical. It was essentially the same examination, but the examiner had more discretion to approve if the driver had a medical condition that was well-enough controlled not to present a safety risk. Apparently that's all changing now. DOT is now looking for conditions that might not even be there. I guess it's another symptom of society's obsession with creating a risk-free world where nothing bad even has a chance of ever happening.

Rich
 
The risk of bad things happening to you is closest to zero immediately after the lid of the casket is screwed shut over you. Prior to that, "risk free" does not exist. You can hurt yourself moving or stopping, and sitting still will create other health issues.
 
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