Obesity, heart disease, and sleep apnea are just a few of the medical conditions that are prevalent among truck drivers in the United States, leading many legislators, lawyers, and safety advocates to question why the responsibility of operating some of the nation’s deadliest vehicles is entrusted to one of its unhealthiest populations.
While federal testing, licensing, and health standards for issuing commercial driver’s licenses have been in place since 1992, truck accidents attributable to drivers falling asleep or having a heart attack while behind the wheel remain a major traffic safety issue, as recent incidents in California and North Carolina illustrate.
Last October, an out-of-control semi truck caused an eight-vehicle crash during rush hour on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles. The incident occurred just south of Santa Monica Boulevard and left several motorists injured. The 58-year-old driver of the truck reportedly suffered a heart attack and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Given the long hours they spend sedentary on the road, minimal options for healthy food, and the high incidence of smoking among truck drivers, it is not surprising that many suffer an increased risk of heart attack. According to some studies, more than half of drivers smoke.
Heart disease is not the only risk truckers face. Obesity is also a risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea, a condition characterized by irregular breathing during sleep, causing the person to awake frequently during the night, and resulting in extreme drowsiness during the daytime. An estimated 2.4 to 3.9 million of the nation’s 14 million truck drivers suffer from sleep apnea, the majority of whom have not been diagnosed, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Cambridge Health Alliance that was published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The study found that the risk of being involved in a crash increases seven-fold if a driver has sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a likely contributor to driver fatigue, which is extremely common, and deadly, among truck drivers. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that after eight hours on the road a driver’s crash risk increases twofold.
Over the years, there have been several accidents caused by truckers who fell asleep while driving. Recently, a 69-year-old big rig driver fell asleep on a North Carolina interstate, crossing the center median, colliding with another semi, causing it to jack-knife and strike two vehicles. Both truckers and one of the vehicle occupants died in the crash.
Weighing up to 80,000 pounds and traveling at high speeds over long distances, large trucks are extremely deadly—especially when operated by drivers who could quickly become incapacitated by a health condition. As the truck accidents in California and North Carolina illustrate, current federal regulation is failing to keep unfit drivers off the road, explains an attorney. Stricter health standards could greatly minimize the risk such drivers present to others on the road.
