Anybody else ??

I believe in a drivers health, but all the new regulations imposed on us will force most out of business.. In 3 to 5 years I feel most of my guys will be weeded out also

I also have the same problem. All my guys did was get a CPAP machine to use at night. The other drawback is a One year DOT physical.Everyboddy's happy

Bill what was the out of pocket expense to get the driver compliant.

I think you were right the fist time Jerry you meant Bill. I was cussing the goverment

Thanks. I got in too big if a hurry.
This crap has run my BP up and I'm cuss'n the givermint today too.

Obamacare don't cover this guy's procedures or equipment so I'll end up eating this bill if I can talk him in to staying. I'd rather give the money to the drivers as a quarterly bonus than give one cent to our useless givermint.

We had pretty fair BC/BS up til Obamacare was born.

how did they find out he had sleep apnea ?

My understanding was that if your personal physician stated that you did not need the study you were ok regardless of the DOT Doc, it was only a problem if you once agreed to the tests then you have to have the machine and stuff. Good frivers are so scarce. I would call OOIDA or someone that knows every aspect of compliance on this one.

Art Pfluger
Good luck

Thanks for the info Kevin. I mighty try that if he wants to stay. He's pretty PO about it too.

I knew about the log rules but didn't have a clue n the physical. When we run intra they let us log old style. Running Abilene and Brownsville it's more advantage for us to log 8 sleeper and 10 driving out of Houston and Baytown

TITLE 37 PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS

PART 1 TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

CHAPTER 4 COMMERCIAL VEHICLE REGULATIONS

AND ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES

SUBCHAPTER B REGULATIONS GOVERNING TRANSPORTATION SAFETY

RULE §4.12 Exemptions and Exceptions

Drivers in intrastate commerce who are not transporting placardable hazardous materials and

were regularly employed in Texas as commercial vehicle drivers prior to August 28, 1989, are not

required to meet the medical standards contained in the federal regulations

I had a doctor start talking that crap to one of my drivers. I went in and looked at the doctor who was fatter then the driver. I then asked him if he would like me to report him to the medical board for being out of shape and misrepresenting his industry. He looked at me and said no! I explained to him that the standards the gooberment was trying to implement were height and weight standards from clear back in the 1930's, things have changed a lot since then. I asked the doctor could he himself adhere to the standards he said he believed not. I then asked how in the hell could he suggest that my driver adhere to them as well. If his BP was good, and his heart was good, his vision was good, he was over all healthy as a horse. What did it matter if he had a little bit of a belly? None of my drivers look like the drivers that the Mega's have, but I suppose the either pony up the money for the CPAP machines, or they get an exception from the FMCSA just like the sleeper split exception that they can get that we can not. Goes to show you how corrupt our system is, when money can buy and exception or exemption. Think about this folks Jerry runs tankers, do you remember ever seeing one of those fat ass waddlers climbing up on a tanker with his shorty shorts, and his gut hanging out. I suspect that Jerry's guy was a big farm boy that had a small neck and the doctor was jealous of him making more per year as a driver then he did as a doctor. With the new Obummer Care there are doctors out there making less than truckers now. Ahhh Yes, good old gooberment doing what is best for everybody, ooops I mean nobody.

I sent a letter to the gooberment one time, and told them that if they paid my company $1000.00 per day for my trucks, I would make sure the drivers only drove 200 miles each day, I would get them a membership to a gym, they would always be well rested and we would not have to worry abouth the sleep apnea thing any longer. I informed them if we were going to be communist or socialist, then let's go ahead and get this party started and give me and my guys their gooberment money. Never got a reply from that one, guess the only ones allowed to make money with the gooberment are the Mega's, the crooked lawmakers, and those that sit on their ass and do nothing at home. All of the rest of us just have to founder around in the sewer until we either drown or float to the top. Me I am too stubborn to drown, and maybe too stupid as well, as long as I can keep swimmming and fighting for air, I will.

Jerry, tell your guy to concentrate on loosing 10 lbs. Tell him to do some neck excersises to add on an inch to his neck girth. Get another doctor to give him a physical at another location when that has happened. Do not allow him to get on the machine, that is a scam, so the medical arena can make money off of the deal. Only you know your driver, if he has not had any issues performing the job for you this whole thing is BS. If they base sleep apnea upon snoring then they would have to DX over half of the military, I remember hearing over half of our tent snoring up a storm when I was in the Army. Just who comes up with this BS, well we all know the answer to that. The AMA along with the FMCSA along with the ATA, add all that together and you get BS for the Independent Carriers that can not get the exemptions that others get. If lawmakers made all others adhere to the same regulations that we truckers must adhere to, then there would be such a revolution that they would loose their jobs and necks tomorrow. Just imagin Joe Q. 4wheeler having to have a sleep apnea test in order to drive their car back and forth to work. Just imagin Joe Q. 4wheeler being told he must take a 10 hour break after working a 14 hr shift before he could drive home. Yep I thing Joe Q 4wheeler would tell the gooberment to screw off and go sign up for some gooberment money.

Jerry look at the bright side of this your guy can now go down and sign up for disability because the gooberment program has just now proclaimed him as such. I have seen several drivers do this as a retaliation for the whole sleep apnea thing. Now those guys are at home drawing a $1300.00 check per month, and fishing every day, really qutie funny and sad when you think about it.

the funny thing is, if you read through all the fmcsa stuff , there has not been a formal law passed regarding sleep apnea , there are just guidlines ( suggestions) relating to it , but as Alfred said it is a scam that puts more money in all concerned pockets. I went a few years ago to renew my card and the doc told me i had to take a hearing tet and see a specialist before i could be recertified. o lieft that clinic went 5 miles down the road and took another physical , and had no problem. i asked that doc , how o did on my hearing ...he said, did you hear everything i said, ...yep... I reckon you can hear then , have a nice day.

It is a shame, the government wants to crucife a person who is willing to work, but will kiss someones ass that wants to sit around all day long and collect government aid, ya gotta love america!

I really hope that was sarcasm. I know that my drivers would hang it all up and say F it, before they would put up with all that. What the hell happened to my industry?

Sarcasm it wasn't. Just what I have to endure to keep my CDL and Health Card. Truckin ain't what it used to be.