Looking through the 50th anniversary edition of Motorcycle News I spotted this “news item”
Truck Hazard
One in six truck drivers suffer from a sleep disorder that could make them fall asleep at the wheel. The Transport Safety Group has found that more than 80,000 British HGV drivers sufer from “Obstructive Sleep Apnoea” where sufferers stop breathing for up to30 seconds during sleep. The disruption means they miss out on a good nights sleep. Experts are urging all truckers to have check-ups.
knight:
… Experts are urging all truckers to have check-ups.
AND THEN WHAT■■?
Wait years and years for an operation on the national health, risk catching MRSA then possibly die!!!
Or pay a fortune to get the op done privately , in the same hospital probably so still catch MRSA and die
I know…maybe if a driver is diagnosed with sleep apnea then his company will pay for the op
Or maybe if they found out then their insurance company will refuse to insure him!!..How long before this may become part of the HGV medical and thus could possibly lead to a licence being withdrawn or refused
lol this really takes the biscut do’sent it i used to love driving in london in the artic it really takes some doing with all the couriers and cyclists and motor cyclists cutting you up giving you the two fingered salute when you havent done anything wrong that is when you earn your money and have too have eyes not only in the back off your head but also each side so when a motorcycist has to give me advice that is when i know i have finally reached cuckoo land.
Just thought I would point out that the reason I was reading motorcycle news is cause I am a keen motorcyclist And the reason I put the post is to show how these things spread once one prat starts them off. Okay more than one prat but you know what I mean.
knight:
… Experts are urging all truckers to have check-ups.
AND THEN WHAT■■?
Wait years and years for an operation on the national health, risk catching MRSA then possibly die!!!
Or pay a fortune to get the op done privately , in the same hospital probably so still catch MRSA and die
I know…maybe if a driver is diagnosed with sleep apnea then his company will pay for the op
Or maybe if they found out then their insurance company will refuse to insure him!!..How long before this may become part of the HGV medical and thus could possibly lead to a licence being withdrawn or refused
Food for thought maybe!!
when you go for your medical at 45 you will see it is on the form,so if you lie and say you have not got a sleep problem,i just wonder what the outcome of that will be??
knight:
Just thought I would point out that the reason I was reading motorcycle news is cause I am a keen motorcyclist And the reason I put the post is to show how these things spread once one prat starts them off. Okay more than one prat but you know what I mean.
its alright i ride a scooter for work anyway so i suppose im no better.
Private Pile:
If it is this common, then it SHOULD be part of the medical. I also think all licence holders (car, bike and truck) should sit a proper medical.
Food for thought.
Cheers
Pile
that should include a common sense test to make sure they have some. that would put a few million car drivers off the road
Hi guys. I am going to add to this one because I have first hand very recent knowledge and I am quite upset. Hubby had his medical back in August. The DR filled in the box about “diagnosed sleep disorders” by putting that he snores! Since then our lives have been hell. Firstly the dvla pulled his licences…which included his car licence! I had to write several letters and make many phone calls which eventually resulted in him getting his car licence back and a “temporary” hgv licence. My argument was that he has never been diagnosed with any such complaint. It didn’t stop there though…they insisted that he got checked out with the hospital. We had to wait for an appointment. First of all he had to see a consultant in a respiratory clinic. This was to confirm that none of his airways were blocked. Last Monday we had to attend the respiratory clinic again where he was checked out and issued with an “oximeter”…which measures the level of oxygen in the blood during sleep. He had to wear this gadget overnight and return it on Tuesday morning. He then went off to work. Up to now it has cost him plenty in time off work and it will get worse!! Anyhow…I rang for the results on Tuesday and they told me that he DOES suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea. I suspected as much because I have observed him in sleep over the past 25 years. This condition means that a person tends to hold their breath while asleep. The theory is that because of this the body is having interrupted sleep patterns which in turn could lead to excessive daytime tiredness and the risk of falling asleep at inapproiate times during the day…EG. while driving!
Anyhow…the next step is being fitted with a machine which forces air into the nostrils/mouth during sleep. These things are not pretty and not allways that comfortable to the wearer and also their sleep partner. Hubby will not be seen until sometime in January next year…and that is as an URGENT case because his livlihood is at stake! Then there is a 2 week trial period before the consultant would even consider telling the DVLA that treatment has commenced and is successful. Hubby is one of the lucky ones because it is like most other medical treatment…a postcode lottery! Some areas have a TWO YEAR waiting list!
The hospital told me that he should stop driving immediately!! I told them it is too late because he has gone…then the chap said that now that he is aware of the condition he must be extra vigilent.
I am dreading a phone call off the DVLA…like I had last week asking when he was having the oximeter test! You see…he has been driving HGV for over 20 years now and has never once fell asleep at the wheel and neither has he ever had an accident! Just because some jobsworth has decided that truckers falling asleep at the wheel cause more accidents than drunk drivers there is going to be a purge on all truckers and others that drive for a living.
In my mind my Hubby is being penalised for something that MIGHT happen in the future!! Any one of us MIGHT have a heart attack or something at the wheel…what will they do about that?? We can’t afford for him to be off the road until January/February next year!! Who will pay us?? Who will employ a trucker who isn’t allowed to drive? It is a bit like the chicken and egg situation!!
Anyhow…somebody mentioned neck measurements. Unfortunately if you have a thick neck then you are deemed to be a likely sufferer…also if you snore and are overweight. Well…that just about affects every trucker then!
The excrutiatingly long hours don’t seem to count!
I do see where they are coming from though. BUT…they are also handling it wrong by threatening peoples livlihood. For instance…now you lot know what an oximeter is…and if you were told you had to wear one, how simple would it be to put it on the wifes finger instead of your own? lol. Stupid isn’t it?
On a lighter note…the wearing of the oxygen machine does have huge benefits to many wearers. The treatment and machine are CPAP by the way…just in case any of you want to “google” it…they can explain it better than I can. You will also read about a “fibrillating” heart which basically means that while a body is holding his breath in sleep…his heart is quivering and can lead to puddling of blood around the heart which in turn can clot and cause heart attacks/stroke.
Many people that are receiving CPAP treatment report “getting their lives back”…they feel refreshed and renewed on waking up. So it isn’t all bad news.
I just wonder what will happen if every proffesional driver in the country demanded being checked out for sleep apnoea?
I will apologise to all lady truckers now for making more references to your male counterparts. This is because it does seem to be mainly a man condition. It usually will affect men over 40 who are overweight. Woman do suffer as well but not nearly as much.
Right rambling over …I hope this helps.
Millie.
Firstly Millie welcome to Tnet
I am shocked at your tale and very sorry for your troubles, I have recieved a fair amount of grief for hiding illness till it got pretty bad but you hear so many tales like yours when a driver has been penalised and lost their livelyhoods it seemed at the time like my only option. I deserve the hassel because everyone who knew me could see there was something wrong but to have your family life turned upside down as yours has been must have been a traumatic shock. I hope you are coping as best you can and if it does come in that all drivers must be tested then the roads will be a lot quieter and goods in shops will be very expensive. All the best to you and your family and please let us know how you get on.
knight:
Looking through the 50th anniversary edition of Motorcycle News I spotted this “news item”
Truck Hazard
One in six truck drivers suffer from a sleep disorder that could make them fall asleep at the wheel. The Transport Safety Group has found that more than 80,000 British HGV drivers sufer from “Obstructive Sleep Apnoea” where sufferers stop breathing for up to30 seconds during sleep. The disruption means they miss out on a good nights sleep. Experts are urging all truckers to have check-ups.
Wonder where they got that from then.
People in Past had a glas Whisky which could you hold awake for another Hour
dennisw1:
“Over 90% of motorcyclists lack a brain”
Obviously you know alot of motorcyclists!!!
But i would have to disagree with you there, it takes as much skill, concentration and awareness to ride a motorcyle as it does to drive an artic. I should know i do both.
In fact i feel insulted by your sweeping statement, how about ‘90% of people called Dennis lack a brain’
millie:
Anyhow…the next step is being fitted with a machine which forces air into the nostrils/mouth during sleep. These things are not pretty and not allways that comfortable to the wearer and also their sleep partner. Hubby will not be seen until sometime in January next year…and that is as an URGENT case because his livlihood is at stake! Then there is a 2 week trial period before the consultant would even consider telling the DVLA that treatment has commenced and is successful. Hubby is one of the lucky ones because it is like most other medical treatment…a postcode lottery! Some areas have a TWO YEAR waiting list!
Yes you are lucky my father was on a 9 month waiting list just to get a C-pap machine,Then an undisclosed amount of time for an operation & he was diagnosed as “serious”.
millie:
In my mind my Hubby is being penalised for something that MIGHT happen in the future!!
If he has been diagnosed with sleep apnea then there is no might as this is a condition that gets worse as it goes on untreated so eventually he will
fall asleep at inappropriate times,whether he is at the wheel or not would not be his choice when it happens indeed it can happen without him even knowing it in a “micro sleep”
millie:
We can’t afford for him to be off the road until January/February next year!! Who will pay us?? Who will employ a trucker who isn’t allowed to drive? It is a bit like the chicken and egg situation!!
I agree that he shouldn’t lose his licence until after he has been diagnosed as to how severe his case is but is it not better to have a little inconvenience now & get the treatment he needs or for him to die because he didn’t want to lose a couple of weeks wages?
This disease is a killer and not just because you can fall asleep at the wheel.
What happens is your major organs gradually become starved of oxygen and eventually they collapse killing the patient.
millie:
Anyhow…somebody mentioned neck measurements. Unfortunately if you have a thick neck then you are deemed to be a likely sufferer…also if you snore and are overweight. Well…that just about affects every trucker then!
The excrutiatingly long hours don’t seem to count!
The reason having a “bull neck” makes you a likely sufferer is that the neck muscle constrict the airway more the thicker the neck consequently even less oxygen gets into the body.
The long hours dont help the situation either
what that has to do with driving a truck god only knows