Sleep study needed for Schneider will other companies need one too?

It the doctors job to look for something that involves DOT physical and the safety of drivers driving a truck. If a driver is 400 pound and has a 25 inch neck and yawning. That would suggest sleep apnea or something else. That doctor would then tell the driver he need a sleep apnea test to see if he has it. If a doctor ignoring or passing every driver even guy with basic sleep apnea signs. That doctor could get in trouble. I don't think they would do much other then tell a doctor to stop passing everyone. I believe the new register that started already got a couple chiropractor for just passing everyone. They stopped the chiropractor by taking his DOT approval away to keep checking drivers

 

No. It's the doctors job to follow the law. Simple fact is that apnea is not required to look for, and as such no doctor will ever be held liable for it. Heck, there are exactly zero fatality wrecks in the US that list apnea as the cause, or contributing factor. There is one case of it being possible though.
That's it. All this is is for whatever reason FMCSA has a hard on for apnea with absolutely no proof it's ever affected driving.

 

Drivers are supposed to stop driving if tired and stop when the current HOS hit their limits. If a drivers says I don't need sleep apnea test. It's still the doctors option to say he won't sign medical card unless driver can show no sleep apnea.

You can probably blame Dr John McElligott. He is one of doctors on the board that recommend what the FMCSA does for medical. He was on Dave Nemo radio show talking about it years ago. He even had RV stopping at truck stop giving free sleep apnea testing.

You can test a cpap and see if the plastic is getting into air then sue the cpap manufacturer. It's probably not going to be easy and won't be cheap[/QUOTE]

 

Or people could be personally responsible for making sure they have water in the chamber to begin with? You can also just turn the humidity and tube temp down instead of having it as high as it can go

 

Here is more info on different ways of sleep apnea testing from this guy again

 

I don't know how many times this has to be stated. Right now there are NO (NONE) USDOT OSA standards. The ONLY thing I can find is in 391.41.


(5) Has no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of a respiratory dysfunction likely to interfere with his/her ability to control and drive a commercial motor vehicle safely;

Outside of this, the call is up to the ME and/or the carrier. PERIOD!

I am not an Attorney so I will restrain from rendering my opinion about liability.

I don't remember the year, but several years ago CONGRESS slapped the hands of the USDOT in regard to OSA and their so-called standards like neck size, etc! The DOT has tried to bring rulemaking forward but abandoned this 2 or 3 years ago.

AGAIN! IF you have OSA and it's causing you problems GET HELP!

Right now this entire OSA thing is really getting a bit silly. THERE ARE NO OSA RULES ANYWHERE IN ANY OF THE USDOT INFORMATION. EVEN the Medical Examiners handbook is absent any direct guidance on OSA.

 

lol or they could be personally responsible in deciding if cpap works for them idk why you want someone else to make that decision. Cpap is a modern day attempt at one size shoe fits all it doesn't work. I prefer freedom of choice on something that there's been less than 30 accidents recorded in 15 years.

 

You're clearly just going to promote cpap machines no matter what. All I'm saying is there aren't enough accidents for sleep apnea to even be discussed it's over dramatized, invasion of privacy, and probably doesn't even change anything other than apparently exposing drivers to potentially hazardous plastic particles among other problems.

The cons I think not only would negate the positive side that's helping some drivers that probably have severe overbite etc but I think cpap should be banned or at least up to the driver to decide if they use it or not up to the physician. One size shoe fit all cure for tired drivers just doesn't work and I think it's just snake oil.

I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing sting operations on physicians making money off of cpap machines just a matter of time. They'll probably lose their license, face fines and potentially go to jail.

 

Check out Transport America

 

I will play along. I need to start by saying if there is no rule/reg on the books that says a driver must be tested for sleep apnea then this really should not be an issue. So with that being said.. How does one decide if a cpap works for them? Seeing as though its used when you sleep and a lot of people deny they have a problem, how does an individual make that determination? Do they just say "It don't work"? Or are you saying they should have a choice as to if they want to use on or not regardless. Because if its the latter, they already have a choice. But just like other companies that have rules on hair, tattoos, etc certain trucking companies make it a requirement . You can make the choice to not use it, but that company would not be a fit for you.

I have mentioned in another thread that I deal with CPAP and Supplies daily. Everyday I have multiple people sit at my desk daily. A common theme that I see is the vast majority of people who come in are overweight . I do not mean 5'7" 190 lbs and BMI considers them Obese. I mean 5'7" 250+ and huffing and puffing walking in the door. A good majority of them have something like "Smokes x packs a day and does not intend to quit" in their chart, or "Does not plan to change diet" . They also have lower o2 levels at night. They are also the ones that see a pulmonologist, get referred for a sleep study, get a machine and supplies, and then complain a week later that the machine is not working for them. Then when you look at their usage you see they turned it on the first night for 3 minutes and its not been on since. Shortly after the excuses flow about why they cant use it.

Do they work? I guess depends on who you ask. The People that stay compliant say they sleep better, wake up refreshed, blood pressure is lowered, etc. Those that used to suffer from morning headaches from a build up of co2 say they are gone. Those who either do not use them, or get them and a few days later decide they do not work will always have nothing good to say, but more often than not those same people are right back in my office getting another machine because their second opinion Dr. thought they needed it.

Who knows....