Sleep Apnea Can Lead to Drowsy Truck Drivers
By Pyle Law, October 21 2020 8:13 pmSleep apnea is a sleep-related health condition that leads to increased drowsiness, and that commonly affects commercial truck drivers. Sleep apnea significantly increases the risk that a driver will be involved in a traffic accident.
Sleep apnea is a common ailment of truck drivers, and it can lead to serious truck accidents born of drowsy driving. If a drowsy truck driver leaves you injured in a truck accident, it’s time to consult with a dedicated Kansas truck accident attorney.
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that is related to breathing interruptions during the sleep cycle. These interruptions amount to pauses in one’s breathing, and they can last for more than 10 seconds at a time – and can occur up to 400 times each night. As you might imagine, sleep apnea is a serious condition that can be life-threatening, and that often goes both undiagnosed and unrecognized.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) shares the results of a study conducted in conjunction with other major players, such as the University of Pennsylvania, which finds that a full 28 percent of all commercial truck drivers suffer from mild to severe sleep apnea. The sheer number of truck drivers affected by this exhaustion-inducing condition is extremely significant.
Because sleep apnea affects one’s sleep, it also has other important effects, including:
All told, motorists who suffer from sleep apnea are at increased risk of being involved in drowsy-driving accidents. And motorists, including truckers, don’t have to fall asleep to be a serious risk behind the wheel – being less attentive or alert than one should be is all it takes.
FMCSA does not directly address the issue of sleep apnea, but they do prohibit anyone who is diagnosed with a medical condition that is likely to impede their ability to drive safely from being medically qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV), such as a semi. Sleep apnea is one such condition. As such, trucking companies must not allow – or require – truckers with unsuccessfully treated sleep apnea to man their rigs. Treatment for sleep apnea – when carefully adhered to – can be highly effective and offers the best chance that the affected truck driver is safe to return to the road.
Truck accidents are among the deadliest accidents on our roads. If a drowsy trucker leaves you or someone you care about injured in a truck accident, the intrepid truck accident attorney at Pyle Law in Kansas is committed to crafting your tightest case in support of compensation that covers the full extent of your physical, financial, and emotional damages. Your case matters, so please don’t hesitate to contact us online or call us at 620-374-9299 for more information today.
