Final Sleep Apnea Public Listening Session To Be Held Today at 1:30PM PST

Today at 1:30PM-3:30PM PST the third and final public listening session will be held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites, 404 S. Figueroa St. in Los Angeles. On March 10, 2016 The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Federal Railroad Administration announced a notice of proposed rule making to receive feedback about any potential sleep apnea regulations. Information on the prevalence of moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among individuals occupying safety sensitive positions in highway and rail transportation, and of its potential consequences for the safety of rail and highway transportation can be solicited at this hearing as well as be submitted online in the form of comments. The 90-day comment period will be ending June 8, 2016.

Through the listening session, interested parties will have one last opportunity to share their views and any data or analysis regarding sleep apnea with representatives of the FMCSA and FRA. As a contributor, you are asked to identify whether you are in the transportation industry or medical profession, but you can choose to remain anonymous. The Agencies will transcribe all comments and place the transcripts in the dockets FMCSA-2015-0419 and FRA-2015-0111.

Previous listening sessions took place May 12 in Washington, D.C., and May 17 in Chicago. Highly prioritized concerns during the sessions have included the cost of sleep studies for drivers and locomotive engineers, the failure of most safety-sensitive transportation employees with apnea to use their CPAP machines and ensuring that any apnea mandates consider safety benefits over costs and driver health.

As ASBA members, we need to provide input on how it is important to driver and public safety to be treated for OSA. For those who are unable to attend in person, the entire proceedings of today's listening session will be available on the through a live webcast, which can be found here.

 

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