The toll of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths remains enormous. Each year, thousands of workers are killed and millions more are injured or diseased because of their jobs. Nowhere is this more evident than in the trucking industry where unscrupulous companies often take advantage of drivers, forcing them to work beyond what is safe for both the…

The study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (March 2009, Volume 51, Issue 3) found that the link between obesity and sleep apnea so strong that the federal government should mandate testing for sleep apnea for commercial motor vehicle drivers. Sleep apnea was found to increase the risks of a…

The FMCSA has posted video’s of common driver errors on its web site. See: www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/outreach/education/driverTips/index.htm

More will be said later about each area, but for now know that the video’s show the following: 

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In a move to keep driver’s on the road longer, the FMCSA kept a provision in the Hours of Service Regulations for Drivers that will allow companies to force them to be on the road 11 hours at a time and the 34 hour restart. These rules have been successfully challenged in court in the…

The American Trucking Association announced driver turnover is the lowest it has been since 1995. Due to the recent downturn in the economy, drivers are worried they may not get another job if they leave so they are willing to stay put, and trucking companies are running fewer trucks which require fewer drivers. This trend highlights the…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia recently put into place a temporary stay, preventing employers from directly observing employees take a drug test AFTER THEY FAILED THE FIRST ONE!  I have not reviewed the case or the stay so this is off the top of my head but what were…

Drivers with obstructive sleep apnea have 2.5 times greater risk of having a highway accident than drivers without sleep apnea as the condition cases driver fatigue (Findley LJ, Unverzagt ME, Suratt PM, Automobile accidents involving patients with obstructive sleep apnea, Am Rev Respir Dis. 1988 Aug; 138(2): 337-40. 1988). The FMCSA Medical Review Board recently recommended that…

Andy Pasztor and Susan Carey had an excellent article on the effects of fatigue on pilots in the Wall Street Journal, PA1, Col. 4 Friday, September 12, 2008. While the NTSB calls fatigued pilots one of its "10 Most Wanted" safety improvements, it relates only 10 airline crashes and 260 deaths to the pilot fatigue problem…