Posted by Captin Cannuck on July 14, 2008 at 05:30:53:

In Reply to: Re: Indiana CDL requirements posted by daldei on July 11, 2008 at 05:17:25:

Good post. Thanks.

The problem with the current policies is that people are not getting treated. Commercial drivers who suspect that they have sleep apnea are often hiding so that they won't lose their licence There are plenty of closet sleep apnea truckers out there. It is so stupid.

If you look above this post ("New policy needed for drivers"), you will see that I wrote about a case like that that I know of. A friend of mine is a truck driver who knows that he has sleep apnea. His wife told him he gasps during the night. He refuses to see the doctor because he worries that he could lose his livlihood.

I am sure there are many many truck drivers, bus drivers etc., who are driving with untreated sleep apnea. This is the kicker - People driving with untreated sleep apnea make the roads much more dangerous than if they treated it. With propper treatment, people with OSA can have a similar AHI profile to non-OSA people.

In my opnion, the current policies actually make the roads more dangerous and cause OSA patients to hide and suffer needlessly.

If possible, I hope that this will become an issue with the OSA community that we could lobby for change. I hope people will write their elected officials to make them aware of the problem. That needs to be changed.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Indiana CDL requirements daldei 12:41 7/14/08 (3)
  • Re: Indiana CDL requirements D.H. 07:19 7/17/08 (0)
  • Re: Indiana CDL requirements Captin Cannuck 17:00 7/14/08 (1)
    • Re: Indiana CDL requirements Bird Watcher 20:39 7/14/08 (0)

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