A “SLEEPER” OF AN ISSUE Sleep apnea gaining greater focus in trucking industry, but regulations lag


percent had a severe case. Obstructive sleep apnea is related to


snoring but is far more serious. When a person snores, their airway partially closes; when they have sleep apnea, it completely shuts because of the weight of the jaw. Episodes can last from 10 seconds to a minute and end when the oxygen-deprived brain jolts the body with adrenaline to force it to take a breath. The sufferer gasps into a micro-arousal that doesn’t result in full wakefulness but is enough to prevent the sleeper from entering deep, rapid eye movement sleep. Evan Bledsoe, Executive Vice President


of Nashville-based Sleep Access, a company that works with haulers to establish sleep apnea programs, described it this way: “The body rouses itself to try to remind you to breathe or to wake you up and say, ‘Hey, I’m choking.’ And the person wakes up to breathe, whether partially or fully, and it fragments the sleep.” Sleep apnea is more common in


BY STEVE BRAWNER Contributing Writer


How much does obstructive sleep


apnea cost? For one family, a mother’s life and a son’s health; for one trucker, five years in prison; and for one trucking company’s insurance company, $41 million. That was the result of a 2010 Ohio


accident where Douglas Bouch, who drove for Virginia-based Estes Express Lines, fell asleep at the wheel and rear-ended the car in front of him. The collision resulted in an eight-vehicle pileup, killed a 47-year-old


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woman, and inflicted lifelong injuries on her son. Bouch, who had a history of sleep apnea and migraines, had pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault. Bouch, Estes Express, and the victims


paid an unusually heavy price, but the accident could have involved many other trucking companies. One study by the American Trucking Research Institute found 18 percent of CDL holders living within a 50-mile radius of the University of Pennsylvania had mild sleep apnea, 5.8 percent had moderate sleep apnea, and 4.7


the trucking industry than in the general population because truck drivers are more likely to have the causal characteristics, including age, obesity, and being male. Obesity is a primary cause because the extra weight on the jaw puts pressure on the airway. In fact, neck sizes of 17 inches among males and 15.5 inches among females are major risk factors. Losing weight is the best long-term


treatment, but that’s hard for drivers to do given the realities of their profession. “Truckers just don’t have the time to buy super-fresh healthy food and to be home to get that done, and the places they stop don’t tend to offer salads as much as double doses of meat and potatoes,” said Dana Voien, president of SleepSafe Drivers, another company that works with haulers to


Continues Arizona Trucking Association 2012 Yearbook


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