• 15
  • February
    2012

An 18-wheeler traveling down a dark freeway and a sleepy driver can be a dangerous combination. Trucking companies regulate how many hours their drivers can be behind the wheel each day to encourage adequate rest. But, is ensuring the drivers have enough time to sleep enough to ensure they are not driving drowsy? A recent study on sleep apnea and the occurrence of accidents suggests that having eight hours to rest may not be enough to ensure alertness.

Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that affects as many as one in 15 individuals. However, many of these individuals are not aware that they suffer from the disorder. There are no blood tests for diagnosing the disorder and the telltale symptoms are often overlooked.

Sleep apnea causes individuals to stop breathing for short intervals during sleep. Often times the next breath is a gasp. When the brain senses a loss of oxygen it triggers a sensation in the brain that pulls the individual out of the restorative deep sleep that everyone needs to ward off drowsiness. Individuals who are diagnosed with sleep apnea can experience this loss of oxygen one to 100 times per hour. Treatment for sleep apnea can range from breathing systems, commonly known as C-packs, to surgery.

Those who live with this disorder are much more likely to be involved in a traffic accident. A 2008 study published in the journal Thorax states that individuals with sleep apnea are three to five times more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle accident resulting in serious personal injury. Sadly, most individuals with this disorder do not know of the increased risk of injury in a traffic accident.

A recent study by Harvard University Medical School professor Dr. Charles Czeisler reports that one in five crashes involving a tractor-trailer is related to sleep apnea. This is a much more common occurrence than many people know, and often times sleep apnea is only found to play a role in these collisions if the driver admits he or she fell asleep or was drowsy right before the crash.

Source: Charlotte Observer, "Sleep Apnea: Hidden Cause of Wrecks," Stuart Watson, 12/14/11.