Sleep Apnea and Commercial Drivers

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder where you repeatedly stop and start breathing while you sleep. This affects your ability to drive safely if untreated.

There are three types of sleep apnea:

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea. When your tongue or soft tissues in the back of your throat block your airway. This blockage causes little or no airflow into your lungs and continues even though your body is trying to breathe.
• Central Sleep Apnea. When your nervous center either doesn’t send signals to your lungs to breathe, or these signals aren’t transmitted correctly to your muscles that are responsible for breathing. Central sleep apnea is not as common as obstructive sleep apnea.
• Complex Sleep Apnea. Is a combination of both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.

Symptoms can include:

• Daytime drowsiness.
• Loud snoring.
• Waking up gasping for air.
• Waking up with a dry mouth.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• High blood pressure.
• Mood changes, such as depression or irritability.

What causes sleep apnea? There are many factors that lead to sleep apnea. These factors can include:

• Family history.
• Physical abnormality in your nose, throat, or other parts of your upper airway.
• Body weight.
• Medical/health problems.
• Medication use.
• Alcohol use.
•  
• The altitude of your home.

Doctors will usually prescribe a sleep study at an overnight clinic or you may be prescribed a home study. If diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, treatment is usually a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine.  A CPAP machine uses a hose connected to a mask or nosepiece to deliver constant and steady air pressure to help you breathe while you sleep. Other treatments include surgery or oral appliances used while sleeping.

While FMCSA regulations do not specifically address sleep apnea, they do prescribe that a person with a medical history or clinical diagnosis of any condition likely to interfere with their ability to drive safely cannot be medically qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce.

However, once successfully treated, a driver may regain their “medically-qualified-to-drive” status. It is important to note that most cases of sleep apnea can be treated successfully.

Because each State sets its own medical standards for driving a CMV in intrastate commerce, check with your local Department of Motor Vehicles for regulations in your State.

In Utah you can apply for a K waiver which means you will be restricted to intrastate only. To be approved for this waiver, your sleep apnea must be successfully treated and well managed.