Maintain Trucker Safety in Several Ways
One of the top priorities in the transportation industry is trucker safety due to the heavy amount of risk in the job. Truck drivers know that it is important to make safety the top priority in the job. Here are six (6) tips to help commercial driver’s maintain trucker safety.
1. Truck drivers need to keep up to date with the new safety regulations and pending truck driving laws. This can easily be accomplished online and your fleet manager or employer is directly responsible for circulating safety regulations/developments to you as soon as they receive information from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
2. One of the main essentials for safe driving is the maintenance of your vehicle. Following and adhering to a scheduled maintenance program ensures that your truck is in good condition.
3. Defensive driving needs to be practiced on a daily basis by all truckers. Many of the automobile drivers lack the skills to maneuver around or behind trucks that can lead to potentially hazardous and unfortunately fatal mistakes.
4. Staying alert is not only the key to trucker safety, it’s required. All truckers need to be aware of when they need to take a break. Know and find trusted rest areas and truck stops that are along your route. Take steps to stay alert and know your limitations. Make the best use of rest breaks to relax and refresh yourself for your entire shift.
5. If your responsibility involves unloading your cargo when you reach your final destination, be sure to use proper lifting techniques. Being on the road for hours on end can put a strain on the muscles in your back. Don’t exert yourself and put your health at risk that would involve an injury.
6. The responsibility to ensure that they are in good physical condition falls on the truck driver themselves. Management of fatigue is important to trucker safety. Make sure that you always have had enough sleep to stay alert.
Sleep Apnea: What Every Trucking Company Needs to Know
Sleep apnea has shown to be a prevalent and recurring diagnosis in the fleet trucking industry. By definition, sleep apnea is a temporary cessation of breathing while you are asleep. It can occur over 100 times each hour in some severe cases. It is a disorder that is treatable, however it also worsens with age and weight gain. If sleep apnea remains untreated, it can lead to serious health conditions such as high blood pressure, anxiety, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, depression, respiratory disorders, and heartburn. Untreated sleep apnea also makes the driver at 2 to 7 times more likely to get into a motor vehicle accident. In addition, drivers who remain untreated for sleep apnea tend to revert to less effective habits to stay awake and alert, including smoking cigarettes and drinking caffeine; these habits just perpetuate the unhealthy and detrimental lifestyles of these drivers. On the other hand, sleep apnea that is treated results in reduced healthcare costs for both the driver and the employer. Treated sleep apnea allows the drivers to increase their productivity immensely and go through their work day with an alert and active mind. As a fleet owner, becoming proactive and investing in a program to advise all of your drivers to get tested and/or treated for sleep apnea can be a very constructive decision, yielding higher retention of your drivers, loads being delivered on time since treated drivers will no longer have to pull over to nap during the workday, and self-assurance that your drivers are not adding danger to the roads.
Efforts under way to address condition that adds to fatigue
Safety on the road is definitely a top priority for all Transportation Risk Managers and Commercial Drivers. When searching for sources of daytime drowsiness, the sleep disorder sleep apnea was reported affect approximately 26% of the 3.4 million licensed Commercial drivers, according to a study commissioned by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. 17% of these drivers were diagnosed with mild sleep apnea, 5% with moderate sleep apnea, and 4% with severe sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea has many various symptoms including daytime fatigue due to a lack of sleep; for drivers, this could increase the risk of crashes greatly. Sleep apnea is a sleep-disordered breathing condition in which the airway to the lungs is obstructed or constricted due to the relaxation of muscles while sleeping. This causes interruptions in breathing that can last up to several seconds a time, loud snoring, and a very restless sleep. There are different types of sleep apnea, so all types of people are at-risk for this condition, however for obstructive sleep apnea (the type of sleep apnea described above), an at-risk individual has a body mass index of 30 or higher and/or a neck circumference exceeding 17 inches. Also, individuals who have other health-related problems such as obesity, diabetes, or heart problems, are also at-risk for a sleep apnea diagnosis.
One of the most dangerous aspects of sleep apnea is that most drivers affected by sleep apnea as the cause to their daytime sleepiness don’t even know they have a medical condition. Many assume that daytime drowsiness and fatigue is an average sensation during the work day. Many drivers also refuse or deny testing for sleep apnea with the fear that, if diagnosed, they will lose their jobs. Fortunately, according to Christina Culliman, Director of Workplace and Fleet Safety with the American Trucking Association, a FMCSA certified Medical Examiner is the determining factor in whether a driver can continue driving. If the examiner determines the driver is at-risk for sleep apnea, they will advise the driver to take a sleep study, and if positive, the driver would have to undergo monitored treatment for 1-4 weeks depending on the severity of the diagnosis before the examiner will re-evaluate the issue and determine whether the driver is able to safely get back on the road.
Sleep apnea has only recently gotten significant attention although it has been classified as a sleep condition in 1964. In order to educate the fleets and drivers of this potential for danger, conferences are being set up to discuss options on how to address and solve this grave safety issue.
The Dangers of Sleep Deprivation in the Transportation Industry
If you feel drowsy while driving, you’re not alone! In a poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, it was analyzed that sleep problems in a variety of different drivers in the transportation industry are affecting their job performance. Safety is an important part of the transportation industry, and thus these results revealed a very serious issue. For specific responses from the poll, read on:
Train Operators in particular stated that they were extremely concerned with sleep problems and their impact on their lives and job performance. 44% stated that because of their daily routines, they are unable to sleep for an adequate amount of time. 14% were actually diagnosed with sleep apnea and reported nightly snoring and waking up not refreshed. 26% of train operators stated that their fatigue and lack of sleep impact their job performance at least once a week. 18% stated that they almost had an accident while at work due to sleepiness.
Truck drivers had similar responses in train operators. They also believed that their fatigue affected their work performance. Within truck drivers, 11% are diagnosed with various sleep disorders and 15% state that their sleepiness impacted their job performance at least once per week. 14% of truck drivers documented that they were involved in a “near miss” accident while driving at work.
Pilots also stated that their daily routines prevent them from getting the proper requirements of sleep. They stated that they tend to wake up feeling fatigued and “unrefreshed.”, affecting their job performance directly. 5% of pilots polled were diagnosed with a sleep disorder and 23% stated that sleepiness affects their job performance weekly. Since “near miss” accidents are not likely for pilots, they instead responded that 20% of pilots associated sleepiness with errors made during the work day.
Public Transportation Specialists were another arena polled during this study. Although their work hours are shorter than the other transportation industries polled above, they still stated overall that sleepiness affects their job performance. 18% also stated that they do not achieve the proper requirements needed for a good night’s sleep during the workweek. 5% are currently diagnosed with sleep disorders and 10% state that sleep does impact their job performance. 12% of public transportation specialists admitted to having a “near miss” accident during work due to lack of sleep.
Sleepiness and sleep-related disorders are prevalent in all working industries, however their association with job performance in the Transportation Industry is definitely more significant than most. The ability of the drivers in the Transportation industry to be safe and healthy must be insured since so many lives are at stake.
The Turn-Key Sleep Apnea program at AllTrans Medical Fleet Services helps drivers determine if sleep apnea is the culprit for causing their fatigue and sleepiness. AllTrans Medical Fleet Services provides home sleep testing to diagnose drivers for sleep apnea. By taking the initiative today, your drivers can begin treatment and enjoy a longer, healthier, and safer life.
