A study conducted by the University of Minnesota has been screening truck drivers for obstructive sleep apnea and monitoring treatment adherence by the drivers, as reported by Behind The Wheel.
Now the program is being hailed as having a dramatic and positive effect on road safety with the study findings being accepted for publication in the medical journal ‘Sleep’.
The study involved more than 1,600 Schneider drivers with OSA and an equal number of control drivers with comparable job experience and tenure and saw drivers receive a treatment machine that could be used at home and in the truck sleeper berth.
Stephen Burks, lead author of the research article, says it was found that the risk of serious, preventable crashes was five times higher among truck drivers with OSA who did not adhere to the treatment program.
