Congressional Dems file twin sleep disorder testing bills

Legislation filed in both the U.S. House and Senate on Thursday (S. 1883/H.R. 3882) would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to test train and commercial vehicle operators for sleep disorders like sleep apnea.    Congressional Democrats introduced legislation on Thursday that would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to test train and commercial vehicle operators for sleep disorders, like sleep apnea.
   The legislation was introduced in the Senate (S. 1883) by Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J.; and cosponsored by Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; and Robert Menendez, D-N.J. An identical bill was also introduced in the House (H.R. 3882) by Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., D-N.J., and cosponsored by Rep. Albio Sires, D-N.J.
   A rule proposed by the Obama Administration in March 2016 would have expanded sleep apnea testing and treatment requirements for train operators and commercial truck drivers across the U.S., but just this August, the rule was withdrawn.
   On Jan. 4, 2016 a Long Island Rail Road train derailed at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal, injuring 103 people, while on Sept. 25, 2016, a New Jersey Transit train derailed at the Hoboken Terminal, killing one person and injuring 114, Sen. Schumer said.
   The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined last week that in both accidents, engineers suffered from severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
   Overall, nearly 20 percent of the 182 major investigations completed by the NTSB between Jan. 1, 2001 and Dec. 31, 2012 identified fatigue as a probable cause, contributing factor, or a finding, according to the NTSB.
   Meanwhile, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said it believes there are already regulations in existence that cover sleep apnea and any and all respiratory problems.
   OOIDA said that according to research published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and authored by Dr. Allan Pack of the University of Pennsylvania, there is no statistical evidence that suggests that the presence of sleep apnea significantly increases the likelihood or the risk of motor vehicle crashes.
   OOIDA also pointed to 391.41 (b) of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, which says, “A person is physically qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle if that person 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.” This is a part of the physical form that all medical examiners complete when doing the routine physical that all drivers are required to go through to obtain or renew their commercial driver’s license.