Two government panels recently recommended that obese Wisconsin truckers be tested for obstructive sleep apnea. The recommendations from the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee and the Medical Review Board may decrease the number of Appleton truck accidents attributable to fatigued driving. Sleep apnea is a condition that can impair a trucker's ability to get a restful sleep, making it much more likely that the driver will fall asleep behind the wheel.

Some trucking industry representatives call the recommendations misplaced. The V.P. of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association recently said that sleep apnea is not the reason why some truckers drive while tired. The V.P. said that the real cause behind truck driver fatigue is that many truckers are unable to find places to safely stop and sleep without interruption.

"Every day those who are on the road -- their struggle is to find someplace where they can stop and sleep. And where they won't get bothered, rousted and run out," The V.P. said. "Those things people need to do to maintain alertness we're discouraged from. Drivers don't set their own schedules; they work around everyone else's."

One woman who was made a widow after a truck accident took her husband's life disagrees.

"How many more families have to be torn apart before we do something?" she asked. "If you could have seen the scene that killed my husband or any of the other scenes that have been tied to sleep apnea and truck wrecks, it does look like a war zone."

Source: The Huffington Post, "Sleep Apnea In Truck Drivers: Advisory Panels Recommend Screening For Condition In Obese Drivers," Amanda L. Chan, Dec. 19, 2012