Lying about sleep apnea?

ethos: "I will admit it, if it was me I would lie. I will not give a carrier a reason not to hire me. Now I don't have sleep apnea but if I develop it I will just lie on the questionnaire. Sleep apnea has been around forever, and truckers have been trucking a long time. Somehow someway truckers drove without cpap machines. Not trying to start a flame war, just my opinion."
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It appears you finally got what you have been seeking - someone telling you it is fine to lie.

There are many very good post in your thread by individuals who strongly suggest, not only because of their personal opinions, your husband comply with the law. What if he LIES and within the 2 to 4 week period gets into a wreck involving a school bus full of young students. Then what? There are many things that could happen in that 2 to 4 week time period that could ruin not only your lives but the lives of others as well.

I find it interesting you ask, "...is there anyway the company would find out abt it other than an accident?" All you are doing is asking ways to avoid complying with the law.

I had to temporarily downgrade my license class because I needed to have a current DOT medical card to renew my CDL. I was looking for employment but because I was recently diagnosed sleep apnea I thought I would never get my CDL reissued . I found this forum and was amazed how many drivers deal with this condition and by complying with the law. I too was thinking (very briefly) about what harm would it do if I did not properly disclose my condition. This forum changed that idea immediately. I am going through the compliance process to get the proper medical documentation to get my CDL reissued. That would be the best, and legal, for your husband to follow. Not only to get his CDL but for his health.

I wish you and your husband the best.

 

If he retests and it comes back that he doesnt have it then he is fine.

A lot of companies do testing on site or have somewhere3 set up to do the tests. They will usually cover the cost upfront and charge you weekly/monthly till its paid for. It just depends on the company. But that way is expensive.

You could get an in home study done on the cheap (250 - 500) but you would have to pay it up front which you say you cant do.

So with the sittuation your in, why not go with a company that will cover you up front and get the type of machine you need. I know that CR England will do the Bi-Pap as a friend of mine there had to have one. Im sure other companies will as well, you just have to do the work and make the calls.

 

Then he shouldn't have quit his job to begin with. A little tough love for ya kiddo. He quit his job. He's only been driving since late 2012 and was going on his 3rd driving job (according to your posts). Sometimes you have to buck up and deal with things. If you guys were so concerned with getting your bills paid he would find something else to do until he got the situation corrected or stayed with averrit and tried to get with the program. That's the way it is, cold hard truth.

 

You can't drive with a fear of hitting a bus full of kids. My God, if, if, if. Anything could happen, it's called life. This guy probably doesn't have sleep apnea and even if he does it's not like truckers have not driven for years with it. Nothing here is new except the regulations. This is just the new medical condition that went viral. I am not saying that people don't have sleep disorders but I highly doubt it is as serious a problem as it's made out to be. Nobody was talking sleep apnea when I started and I don't remember the highways being littered with wrecked cars and trucks like some doomsday movie. I think it's great that companies are working with drivers to make them safer, but they are taking it to far. I have heard at least 10 drivers say that they have a hard time sleeping with the cpap machine and they never felt tired before they had to.

And then there is the part about having to upload your data. Do people who wear glasses have to do that?

 

THEN CHANGE THE SITUATION!! My god. Think about it! This isn't rocket science. Wow.

 

The OP gave her if scenario:

amtrack: "...if he goes with another company does not disclose any info on sleep apnea..."

You gave your if scenario:

ethos: "I will admit it, if it was me I would lie..."

I totally agree with you that anything can happen in life but lying about this serious medical condition is not the way to go. The truth, or the lack of the truth, will sooner or later come out. I truly hope they do the right thing and it works out for them.

 

No disrespect but I'm wondering why anyone would even think they could get away with lying about this when it is so easily solved.

I mean that even after all of this with 69 posts and good advice, there is a thought that you need to lie.

Here is how it is explained to me, I can't lie because of my weight and BMI and no one else can. IF the doctor signs off on a dot they are fully liable for me the driver and they will follow the guidelines because they won't risk their license. On top of that, a lot of companies have audits of things like physicals to find problems, I understand a couple of the large carriers have people who work with their insurance companies to do these audits.

SO even IF you get passed the physical by chance, then there is also an issue of being a lawyers dream lawsuit. You already had a sleep test, it was found you have sleep apnea and now you are going to say "I don't have it" without a shred of proof and then you get into an accident, what's the first thing that the state or DOT will ask for - your records. AND they will ask the question about your BMI and why you passed the physical but not had a record of a sleep test.

 

Show me the regulation that states that ANYONE (even those with a high BMI) must undergo a sleep study. You won't find it, because it doesn't exist. It has been TALKED about, but is not yet on the books. There is nothing on the long form asking for BMI to be calculated, neck size to be measured, or anything else of that sort...only height and weight.

Follow the money.

Medical device suppliers stand to make a ton of money if a large number of people are FORCED to buy their products. So they convince the large mega-fleets to agree to these phony "sleep studies" in order to demonstrate a problem in the industry that needs to be addressed.

The mega-fleets incentive for doing this is two-fold: 1) they have a steady stream of warm bodies willing to work for almost nothing to subject to these "studies", and can "finance" the purchase of the CPAP machines just like they "finance" these new recruits' CDL school....they charge way too much and pay them way too little. 2) it will force "experienced" drivers who demand too much pay and don't put up with the bullcrap out of the industry if they are O/O's or work for smaller carriers who may not be able to afford to pay for all of the sleep studies. The bigger "problem" that the industry is demonstrated, the more likely it is that the FMCSA will pass the regulations being sought by those performing the sleep studies....leading to fraudulent diagnosis.

The government looks the other way, because they want the extra revenue generated by the medical device tax under Obamacare.

The only people who LOSE are the drivers, who may or may not actually have sleep apnea, but if you partake in one of these mega-fleet "sleep studies" you are almost assured to be diagnosed with it by one of their "doctors".