Sleep Apnoea and the HGV Driver

[symmit]

If you drive for a living and have a sympathetic employer who values your services then the low cost of private therapy (from under £1000 including your test, APAP and supplies) should encourage them to help you with (or even just pay for) it. I would have done as an employer, in the same way I'd pay for sight tests, driving evaluations and advanced driving courses.

If you're an owner operator, or self employed like me, £1000 to get yourself well is a bargain.

[Tigers Fan]

Hmmmmm!

Depending on the size of mortgage, number of children, etc, etc.

We have the NHS in UK so that everybody can get proper medical care - allegedly.

TF

[symmit]

Depending on the size of mortgage, number of children, etc, etc.

We have the NHS in UK so that everybody can get proper medical care - allegedly.

TF

I'm comparing £1000 to either (a) not working or (b) Dying In A Nasty Accident

For me it had got to the point I could only work about 4 hrs a day, and if I needed to drive over 4 hrs I'd have to pay someone to drive me. Now I'm back to being able to drive 3-4 hrs at each end of a 6-10 hr working day, after only two months of therapy.

[Tigers Fan]

I understand your point, symmit, and agree with you - but for many they have to take the risk of both a) and b) in order to make ends meet. Therein is Richard's problem with promoting OSA awareness amongst truckers. Going private is not an option and the NHS takes so very, very long while the bills keep coming.

TF

[symmit]

I understand your point, symmit, and agree with you - but for many they have to take the risk of both a) and b) in order to make ends meet. Therein is Richard's problem with promoting OSA awareness amongst truckers. Going private is not an option and the NHS takes so very, very long while the bills keep coming.

TF

Which is why the employers should be realising they have a duty of care to make the drivers complete the questionnaires (cost=0) from time to time, and any who are suspected should do a sleep study (cost=not much) then start therapy immediately if required (cost = less than damaging a truck by driving it into an armco, let alone writing one off, killing its driver, having an investigation and being screwed for corporate manslaughter for allowing an employee to drive while not in a fit state)

Owner operators need to make their own decisions, I don't drive a truck I drive a car, yet tiredness and fatigue scare the hell out of me, I've often slept for an hour or two in the car, but never thought I actually dozed while driving until a passenger gave me a nudge a few months ago!

We all like think that accidents won't happen to us, as a 40k mile per annum driver I assure you - it will, and it may not be your fault, but you can mitigate the outcome by being alert and awake. Some people drive all their life and are never involved in a collision, others are less lucky, but we can move from one group to another in the closing of an eyelid...

[Richard]

I think it highly unlikely that a 'sympathetic employer' would fork out for private therapy for a driver suffering OSA.

A recent screening for OSA in a hauliers employing 600 drivers revealed 20% showed symptoms. Imagine, sending 120 members of your company for private treatment at your expense. Apart from the cost, what about the impact on the business of 20% of the fleet possibly losing their licences.

And if it came to the attention of the fleet-insurers, you can bet your life the premiums would rocket, with the inevitable consequences.

Hence, no-one in the industry talks about OSA - it's the elephant in the room. The employer just doesn't want to know, and the driver is scared to death of his boss finding out.

Around 300 people lose their lives every year where a driver has fallen asleep at the wheel.

[symmit]

I think it highly unlikely that a 'sympathetic employer' would fork out for private therapy for a driver suffering OSA.

A recent screening for OSA in a hauliers employing 600 drivers revealed 20% showed symptoms. Imagine, sending 120 members of your company for private treatment at your expense. Apart from the cost, what about the impact on the business of 20% of the fleet possibly losing their licences.

As I understand it they don't lose their license if they are effectively treated, by going private they can be diagnosed then put on therapy the same day - by the time the DVLA have sorted the paperwork it's all clear?

And if it came to the attention of the fleet-insurers, you can bet your life the premiums would rocket, with the inevitable consequences.

This has been mentioned elsewhere hasn't it? Insurers are not allowed to discriminate against a driver who has medical conditions that DVLA are aware of and are happy to allow to drive.

Hence, no-one in the industry talks about OSA - it's the elephant in the room. The employer just doesn't want to know, and the driver is scared to death of his boss finding out.

This is the part of the cycle that needs to be broken. I'd rather have 200 drivers working for me, 20 of which are using CPAP, than 200 drivers with 20 having microsleeps on a regular basis while at the wheel.

Around 300 people lose their lives every year where a driver has fallen asleep at the wheel.

Makes speeding look irrelevant on the accident statistics doesn't it - in 2007 460 people died as a direct result of drink driving, yet we all expect professional drivers not to drink and drive. Maybe we should expect them not to dive unless they've had a good nights sleep as well.

[Richard]

Of course discrimination against a driver whose OSA is being treated is unlawful.

However, a haulier who knowingly fails to make a full disclosure ref. any suspicions he may have regarding his drivers' health when renewing the fleet-insurance policy faces the possibility of having his premium refused or raised, depending on the view the insurers take. This is not just for OSA, but heart problems and alcoholism, for example. That's the difference.

In the absence of any dialogue on the subject between employer and driver, in the event of a serious accident, the employer can always say 'Well, I didn't know. Nobody told me.' As though that completely exonerates the company!
If the road transport industry could get their act together and demand a compulsory bi-annual screening for all their drivers, irrespective of age, the NHS would be keen to comply and offer screenings free of charge.

This would open up a dialogue between the employer and his drivers, drivers would enjoy better health and the roads would be safer. Fear of admitting to OSA would be greatly reduced, too.

[Guest]

Upto 10 years ago I had been in transport since a nipper (fitter/Transport manager), one thing I would do is have random license checks where driver had 3 weeks to produce their license or be suspended, it sorted out the ones that had too many points or worse and never told us. Cant the bosses now do random sleep checks, would only cost the price of a oximeter and would save the consequences of accidents, as they are liable for the employees actions.

I do think tho the fact I was taught at early age to recognise and act on driving while tired saved me from killing someone, but what about people like salereps who dont have this background. They can still cause carnage with a car doing 70 plus.

[symmit]

I do think tho the fact I was taught at early age to recognise and act on driving while tired saved me from killing someone, but what about people like salereps who dont have this background. They can still cause carnage with a car doing 70 plus.

I'm an ex salesrep, also ex fleet manager (engineers and reps), and currently a self employed IT person - as I've mentioned before as a fleet manager I did all I could to ensure my drivers were fit to drive and were given care and training as required.

Reps and engineers are as dangerous as truckers - the number of times I've been out with a rep who's thought I was asleep in the passenger seat and has been passing on the left at 40 mph over the flow of traffic...

[Richard]

Sleep Apnoea and the HGV driver

For anyone who earns a living driving a truck, and is being treated successfully for OSA, quite a few, I would think, I would like to ask a big favour.

There are any number of drivers who have OSA without realising it, who experience the daytime sleepiness and irritability that we have all of us gone through. We need to get the message to them that there is a better life, if only they could find help.

As part of my campaign, I have created the site on Facebook, 'Truckers Health'; it needs some more visitors to 'like' it before it can go 'live' as an independent page with the address www.facebook.com/TruckersHealth, where it will spread the message more successfully.

Can I ask you kindly to visit:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Truckers-Health/124546734247456

and click on the 'like' button, please? It will make a big difference to an awful lot of people.

Your help is much appreciated.

Thank you.

Richard

[jackyk]

done for you , hope it helps

[Berneta]

Trucker's Health

Hi--I did it too. Anything to help. My hubby, son. and son-in-law are all truck drivers. I put it on my Facebook Site--so should get some others to click on too. x Berneta

[Richard]

Sleep Apnoea and the HGV driver

To everyone who was kind enough to 'like' the Truckers' Health Facebook page, many, many thanks.

In the coming weeks, I am hoping you will help spread the word and raise awareness among those who drive for a living, and the companies who employ drivers.

For far too long OSA has been the 'elephant in the room' as far as transport is concerned.

Truckers should have nothing to fear by getting treated and hauliers can no longer claim they know nothing about OSA. This will be a big step forward.

Thanks again.

Richard

[Richard]

Sleep Apnoea and the HGV driver

Thanks to the efforts of the lovely people at Intus, to some kind friends and relations, but most of all, to yourselves, members of the CPAP Forum,the website www.facebook.com/truckershealth is now up and running.

This is the preliminary to the main website which will allow the driver to access practical help and support to deal with his OSA.