DOT to start forcing drivers out of work

[Big Fitz]

A new regulation has just come down from the DOT requiring all drivers to get tested for sleep apnea if they have certain statistics.

1. A score of 10 or greater on a sleep apnea test about wakefulness
2. A Body Mass Index of over 35
3. A neck measurement greater than 45cm.

The driver will then be forced to be tested for Sleep Apnea or will be ineligible for a new DOT health card.

The really good news is that in some states, the DOT will be forced to pay for the overnight sleep study to determine if you have sleep Apnea. AND provide the driver with a CPAP machine.

The bad news is, this is not all states, AND the test can cost up to $4000 out of pocket for the driver plus the cost of the machine which runs also a few thousand dollars.

So, the Obama administration now, unsatisfied with so many drivers on the road is looking to make more professionals unemployed. Way to go Barry! Let's just fuck up some more. Congress needs to repeal this bullshit law, as it will take many well qualified drivers and make them unemployed for something that is not a proven serious risk factor.

No I can't give you a link, I just found out about this first hand by having to take my DOT physical and this is the fun I just went through. Now to find out if the government pays for the test and machine, or I will be unemployed by September because of these fuckos.

 

[Douger]

Gawd blass duh land of duh " free"

 

[theDoctorisIn]

First of all, if you have insurance, a sleep study is almost always covered.

Secondly, I can't find any sources about this being a requirement, I've only found information about a study being done. Maybe you're part of the study.

Studies have shown that 1 out of 5 serious accidents are caused by driver fatigue. This is not a nothing issue. Maybe this is something that should be looked at.

 

[Big Fitz]

First of all, if you have insurance, a sleep study is almost always covered.

Secondly, I can't find any sources about this being a requirement, I've only found information about a study being done. Maybe you're part of the study.

Studies have shown that 1 out of 5 serious accidents are caused by driver fatigue. This is not a nothing issue. Maybe this is something that should be looked at.

Newp. Another friend of mine, contractor just sent me an email from their Oregon freight terminal warning of this being the new federal standard for all drivers starting this year.

What pisses me off the most is this is a discriminatory law against fat people because it forces testing on those with high BMIs and neck measurements REGARDLESS OF SYMPTOMS. If you're x fat you have to take the study. If you have a neck x thick, you have to take the study.

This is not something they are thinking of doing, it's something they have already done and potentially forcing the costs on drivers who then have to foot the bill or their insurance companies.

Let me also point out MOST drivers with a CDL B, do not get insurance benefits. All your bus (School and Coach) drivers, straight truck drivers and the like don't get health benefits, and cant afford to get them through work or privately because they aren't paid enough to handle the deduction. Now if we'd get the fucking government out of the way, and break the back of the lawyer's lobby suing everybody into oblivion, costs could become reasonable and I could afford to pay out of pocket.

This is just one more bale of hay on the economy's back when it just doesn't need it and really is going to have an expensive cost for minimal improvement to society. Yes their study says 30-40% of all serious accidents have some form of sleep related cause... but really, this is just not cost effective and punitive on the citizenry.

and I add again... discriminatory against fat people.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

First of all, if you have insurance, a sleep study is almost always covered.

Secondly, I can't find any sources about this being a requirement, I've only found information about a study being done. Maybe you're part of the study.

Studies have shown that 1 out of 5 serious accidents are caused by driver fatigue. This is not a nothing issue. Maybe this is something that should be looked at.

Newp. Another friend of mine, contractor just sent me an email from their Oregon freight terminal warning of this being the new federal standard for all drivers starting this year.

What pisses me off the most is this is a discriminatory law against fat people because it forces testing on those with high BMIs and neck measurements REGARDLESS OF SYMPTOMS. If you're x fat you have to take the study. If you have a neck x thick, you have to take the study.

This is not something they are thinking of doing, it's something they have already done and potentially forcing the costs on drivers who then have to foot the bill or their insurance companies.

Let me also point out MOST drivers with a CDL B, do not get insurance benefits. All your bus (School and Coach) drivers, straight truck drivers and the like don't get health benefits, and cant afford to get them through work or privately because they aren't paid enough to handle the deduction. Now if we'd get the fucking government out of the way, and break the back of the lawyer's lobby suing everybody into oblivion, costs could become reasonable and I could afford to pay out of pocket.

This is just one more bale of hay on the economy's back when it just doesn't need it and really is going to have an expensive cost for minimal improvement to society. Yes their study says 30-40% of all serious accidents have some form of sleep related cause... but really, this is just not cost effective and punitive on the citizenry.

and I add again... discriminatory against fat people.

Are you union, btw? If not, that might explain the lack of medical insurance.

And fat people have MUCH higher rates of sleep apnea, specifically because fat around the neck closes of the breathing passages while sleeping, causing restless constantly wakeful sleep. Both my grandmother and my mother have sleep apnea - my grandmother sleeps less than 2 hours each night because of it.

 

[Big Fitz]

First of all, if you have insurance, a sleep study is almost always covered.

Secondly, I can't find any sources about this being a requirement, I've only found information about a study being done. Maybe you're part of the study.

Studies have shown that 1 out of 5 serious accidents are caused by driver fatigue. This is not a nothing issue. Maybe this is something that should be looked at.

Newp. Another friend of mine, contractor just sent me an email from their Oregon freight terminal warning of this being the new federal standard for all drivers starting this year.

What pisses me off the most is this is a discriminatory law against fat people because it forces testing on those with high BMIs and neck measurements REGARDLESS OF SYMPTOMS. If you're x fat you have to take the study. If you have a neck x thick, you have to take the study.

This is not something they are thinking of doing, it's something they have already done and potentially forcing the costs on drivers who then have to foot the bill or their insurance companies.

Let me also point out MOST drivers with a CDL B, do not get insurance benefits. All your bus (School and Coach) drivers, straight truck drivers and the like don't get health benefits, and cant afford to get them through work or privately because they aren't paid enough to handle the deduction. Now if we'd get the fucking government out of the way, and break the back of the lawyer's lobby suing everybody into oblivion, costs could become reasonable and I could afford to pay out of pocket.

This is just one more bale of hay on the economy's back when it just doesn't need it and really is going to have an expensive cost for minimal improvement to society. Yes their study says 30-40% of all serious accidents have some form of sleep related cause... but really, this is just not cost effective and punitive on the citizenry.

and I add again... discriminatory against fat people.

Are you union, btw? If not, that might explain the lack of medical insurance.

And fat people have MUCH higher rates of sleep apnea, specifically because fat around the neck closes of the breathing passages while sleeping, causing restless constantly wakeful sleep. Both my grandmother and my mother have sleep apnea - my grandmother sleeps less than 2 hours each night because of it.

Most bus companies are non-union. And if given a choice I'd remain non-union. As for the risks of sleep apnea, yes, I know that it can be weight related. But it's not always the case. They're playing the law of averages here and discriminating because it's easier. If it was the TSA it'd be called profiling because 99% of all terrorists are muslim and they are not basing it on symptoms only.

The health nazis are trying to criminalize obesity and this is just another venue in which to do it. Plus it helps P-BO wreck the economy by making more people unemployed who would normally be working.

Tell you this much, after hearing the article about "more voters" ending up on welfare rolls, they're going to be sorely surprised with how many will vote the asshole who put them there out of office if someone will give them a job. Unlike many deadbeat cretins, we working poor are not willing to stay cattle for the state.