Obese, you may not have a job soon.

this is such a joke.
right now the more immediate issue is sleep apnea (which is a problem more specific to overweight persons). I find it hilarious that because I have a size 18 neck a company wont hire me unless I prove I don't have apnea, yet no one has objected in the past 10 years that as a driver of a vehicle with opti-idle, my TRUCK wakes me 3 times per hour. Tell me, I sleep well at home, without interuption or snoring, why is my neck size and not my truck spec being blamed for my supposedly not getting my rest?

 

I have to challenge the remark a police officer is very limited to the damage he can do . http://arlingtoncardinal.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2008/1/30/3495410.html
There was much wrong with this incident . No one could give a description of the car that allegedly cut the trooper off . For some unexplained reason he also had his dashcam turned off . An overweight officer trying to run from his car to the scene of an assault or robbery in progress will take extra time to get to the scene and a fit suspect (or less unfit) will easily outrun him and go on to commit other crimes .

 

IMO that is one trooper that needs to be at a desk at a minimum. Involved in two other on duty crashes. One that had a 1.7M judgement. A permanent desk job would be a lot cheaper on that states taxpayers!!!!

 

All I can say is if you want less government, please don't vote for Obama this November.

 

From my researching the subject, it seems that the FMCSA has determined that there is a relationship between obesity and sleep apnea...this is from the study: A Study of Prevalence of Sleep Apnea Among Commercial Truck Drivers (link at end of this post):

"The study also revealed that the prevalence of sleep apnea depends on the relationship between two major factors, age and degree of obesity, with prevalence increasing with both. This relationship is important, because it provides the commercial driving industry with predictions that are useful in estimating the prevalence of sleep apnea in any population of drivers."

Here is some more info on the research being done:

ARTICLE CREDIT: Land Line Magazine

FMCSA board wants to test some truckers for sleep apnea based on BMI

The FMCSA's Medical Review Board formally recommended this week that all drivers with a body mass index of 30 or greater be tested for sleep apnea. For example, if you are 5 feet 10 inches tall and weigh 210 pounds, you would be considered obese and would have to be tested. On Monday, April 7, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's advisory Medical Review Board finalized its Jan. 28 recommendation that CDL-holders be referred for medical testing for sleep apnea if their BMI rates were 30 or greater. Meeting minutes indicated that some board members felt the BMI issue warranted more investigation. Sleep apnea occurs most often when throat muscles relax during sleep, momentarily preventing oxygen from traveling to one's lungs, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The medical review board carries no rulemaking power or authority, and transportation officials have not set any timetable for consideration of any regulation related to apnea, FMCSA spokesman Duane DeBruyne told Land Line. "No one should be concerned that something imminent is happening," DeBruyne said.

OOIDA's lobbyists, however, say the medical board carries significant weight when it comes to regulatory changes. Melissa Theriault, OOIDA's associate director of government affairs, attends most Washington, DC-hosted medical review board meetings and said most of the advisory board's recommendations are adopted by FMCSA.

"The Medical Review Board carries a lot of influence," Theriault said.
OOIDA officials say the Association opposes mandatory sleep apnea testing "unless they can show a direct causal relationship between obesity, sleep apnea and highway safety," Tom Weakley, director of operations for the OOIDA Foundation, told Land Line.

One-third of Americans were classified as obese in 2003-2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

For more information and to read the medical review board's meeting transcript, visit: http://www.mrb.fmcsa.dot.gov/. To contact the FMCSA medical review board, call 1-800-832-5660.

 

As much as i hate to say it we need more government right now. Too bad they just can't work together to do anything.

Well we see where less government has gotten us. So how are you going to pay your $2300 per family member to bail out these companies that were not being regulated by the government?

 

If they pass this into law alot of truckers will be looking for disability.
They will say I was a trucker and then they passed this bs rule saying if I am overweight that I am disqualified to drive the truck.

Alot of the overweight truckers will qualify for the disability because at a certian weight they consider it to be a disability.

Then the goverment will be complaining that social security is going broke again like they did in the mid 90's.

 

In general, I think something should be done about the health of the participants in this industry, but it should be proactive rather than punative. Oh wait, we're talking about government involvement here...

 

wannadriveatruckSC, you are kidding right?

 

My bet would be that they would grandfather everyone who has a CDL license and then apply it to all new applicants...that is the work around for the disability liability claim.