Cumulative Fatigue not Sleep Apnea DOT

I was recently requested by my employer to participate in a sleep study program. The requirement is in preparation of DOT discussions that may likely take effect as law around October. This new series of laws and regulations will attempt to address the issue of sleep apnea as a causal effect of CMV related crashes.


The real issue is a condition called 'cumulative fatigue', and the only treatment for this condition is education. Cumulative fatigue is brought on by nights of interrupted sleep, or generally interrupted sleep cycles where not enough REM sleep is achieved. Sleep Apnea is but one of many causes, and addressing this alone will do nothing to improve the safety of the motoring public.

Interrupted and restless sleep can occur for a multitude of reasons, all of which can conspire to create cumulative fatigue, even if the sufferer doesn't 'feel' tired.

- Professional stresses can cause a driver to not rest comfortably or even wake up from time to time during the night just be sure he/she has not overslept. (Can I make it on-time if the weather turns or if I go through Metro during rush hour?)

-Personal Stresses, everything ranging from why did my wife take so long to answer the phone to is my paycheck going to be big enough, can cause restless sleep and REM deprivation.

-Perturbations from external sources while parked can wake a driver and disrupt REM sleep. These motions can be caused by everything from the wind rocking the vehicle, reefer units kicking on and off, and actually being bumped into by another truck that is attempting to park.

-Noises ranging from other drivers inconsiderate use of Jake Brakes through truck stop parking lots to people actually knocking on the truck doors disrupt and disturb slumbering drivers.

-Smells and odors can wake drivers on some nights. The wind can change and now the driver is downwind of a paper mill, hog farm, or fat rendering plant. The smell of unidentified smoke can wake a driver from a dead sleep to full throttle almost immediately.

-Illnesses such as colds or just common aches and pains can cause sleeplessness.

-Medications for conditions ranging from acute illness to chronic ailments affect REM sleep.

-Even something as simple as having to park for the break period in a 'seedy' neighborhood can interfere with a drivers ability to obtain a decent night's sleep with adequate REM cycles.

- Sleep Apnea, this is the process during the night where some people suffer from blocked air passages. Each time the air gets cut-off, the person awakens. Sometimes this wake/and go back to sleep happens in such short and rapid successions, that the sleeper is unaware that they even woke up.

Now, DOT submits that the sole cause of driver fatigue is sleep apnea. DOT, for bazaar reasons, believes that drivers who suffer this ailment is in the neighborhood of 30 per cent. It is true that some people that drive trucks do so with this condition.

DOT's solution to driver fatigue is the single minded approach of diagnosing and treating sleep apnea.
This is the commercial transportation equivalent of some random driver telling all of the handling abilities, braking distances, acceleration distances of a sight-unseen commercial vehicle and the length of travel time needed 'to the minute' based solely on the weight of the payload, with no considerations made for vehicle type, transmission, engine, distance between origin and destination, weather, or even route.

Any driver who could make such a claim would be laughed out of the industry for being such an idiot, yet we blithely accept this approach to SAFETY from those who govern our industry.

It is true that the DOT has solicited advise from a panel of experts, who truly are experts in how breathing affects the heart and body and how sleep affects the functioning of the mind. But-and this is important-These experts only cover 1 facet of a serious problem and the solution offered is not a solution at all.

THINK ABOUT IT: Is a 4 thousand dollar mini-fan blowing air directly into a person's face while they sleep realistically going to do anything to improve highway safety?

Rather than challenge this, some companies, despite having actual industry knowledge, are accepting this hypothesis with little or no argument. Some companies are even going so far as to not just lay down and accept these new potential DOT mandates, but have actually built 'sleep labs' for the implementation of this misguided approach to solving the fatigue issue.


There are already drivers who have been diagnosed with the condition talking about how the monitoring of the use of the CPAP machine can be circumvented-simply turn the machine on and put the mask on the floor-don't forget to turn the machine off when you crawl out of the sleeper.


The cure for driver fatigue is educating drivers of what it is, what it's symptoms are, and how to recognize those symptoms. Some symptoms are simple and easy to identify, things like clumsiness, forgetfulness, and re-doing the same tasks or missing known exits are good examples.

Other symptoms are a little more sophisticated because they involve actively paying attention to the act of paying attention. An example of this as a symptom might be a driver passes a car and as he gets back into the travel lane, another vehicle races by and passes him. IF,EVEN FOR AN INSTANT THAT DRIVER DOUBTS WHETHER OR NOT HE CHECKED HIS MIRROR OR CUT ANOTHER DRIVER OFF, that itself is a symptom of cumulative fatigue.


These potential DOT mandates are a waste of resources and money, particularly when one considers that in most cases, the people who are hired to conduct the sleep studies are the same people who are selling the CPAP machines. So far, the average failure rate on the sleep lab is over forty per cent. DOESN'T THAT RAISE A RED FLAG TO ANYBODY BUT ME?

The only people who will benefit from this are the people who are selling $4,000 fans. SHAME on the companies within this industry who have not even challenged or submitted any thoughtful counter arguments to these DOT proposals.

There will be many drivers who will have been wrongfully diagnosed with sleep apnea so some company can get a commission on a new machine. This is tasteless because that diagnosis is an entry into a medical record that will inhibihit that drivers future opportunities.

Now, on a more personal note, the idea of submitting myself to participate in an activity that I know in my heart of hearts is a fruitless endeavor and potentially a scam is one of the most appalling notions any employer could ask me to do.

The reasons I have been asked to undergo this idiotic lie is vague at it's best.."They saw some things that might suggest to some people that you should be a candidate for a sleep study".

BMI is the broadest net, and if that is a reason the solution should be to either lose weight by a certian time or submit to this test shortly therafter. Not being given the opportunity or even the reasons for being suggested as a sleep study candidate.....man, I cannot even think of a coherent response to that.

I know the executives researched potential sleep experts and settled on a service provider for the sleep studies. I also believe that just because a person finds what they think they are looking for doesn't mean that the search miraculously generates an immunity from scams. (people see fortune tellers everyday-do you think any of those people get scammed).

According to my terminal manager, his fleet is "only" suffering a sleep apnea failure rate of around 40 per cent. I know some terminals have a higher rate.

I look at things this way- while I am in this vehicle, either on or off duty, I am being watched, observed and monitored. The engine can have a function performed that can even tell my company when I've missed a gear based on engine over RPM. An ECM download can indicate if I am a 'tailgater' as it can provide information regarding 'hard brakes' and panic stops.
The quallcom satellite unit can track my motion, direction and speed at any given time. Anything that quallcom and satellite cannot provide I am required by law to record in a logbook which is then compared to satellite and computer for verification.

The only reprieve I am allowed from this observatory scrutiny is when I am in the sleeper off-duty. And now, the company I work for wants me to potentially sacrifice the ONLY vestige of privacy I have. They want me to submit to a sleep study.

This sleep study will do nothing to promote the general safety of the motoring public and it is a medical procedure that may result in my being scammed into having a bogus ailment entered into my medical records and potentially have to use a CPAP machine. SO, now, my employer wants to violate the only privacy I am allowed and monitor me while I sleep.

By asking me to do this, participate in an activity that I believe is a scam, is tantamount to asking me to place my career before a firing squad. The choice offered is to take the sleep study or decling to do so will be considered a resignation. I declined and it cost me my job.

I am lucky, I can afford to take some time off and have enough experience to easily be hired at a time of my choosing by other decent companies out there. My desire to NOT participate in this nonsense is stronger than my desire to stay with a weak willed company, despite the above average benefits. There will be many drivers who are not so lucky.