| Title | Sleep Apnea Crash Risk Study [Final Report] |
|---|---|
| Record ID | 51311 |
| Personal Name Creator |
Barr, Lawrence C; Boyle, Linda; Maislin, Greg |
| Source | 105p. in various pagings |
| Corporate Creator | John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.); University of Iowa; Biomedical Statistical Consultng |
| Corporate Contributor |
United States. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Office of Research and Technology |
| Publisher | United States. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration |
| Publication Date | 20040901 |
| Language | English |
| Abstract | Sleep apnea is a condition in which a narrowing or closure of the upper airway during sleep causes repeated sleep disturbances, and possible complete awakenings, leading to poor sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness. The primary objectives of this study were to (1) obtain additional and more meaningful crash data by linking a sleep apnea database to the FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) crash database; (2) understand the impact of sleep apnea and driver impairment on crash involvement, the number of crashes, and the severity of crashes; and (3) gain insight into how crash rates are impacted before and after drivers are diagnosed with sleep apnea. The overall goal of the analysis is to determine the crash risks for CMV drivers with sleep apnea compared to drivers who do not have sleep apnea. The results of this study contradict those found in several previous studies, in that other studies found a strong positive relationship between sleep apnea and motor vehicle crashes. A possible reason for this contradiction could be attributed to limitations of the data used in this study, and these are discussed in detail in this report. This study, using an analysis using logistic regression, found no association between sleep apnea, as measured by the apnea/hypopnea index, and commercial motor vehicle crashes. Patients with sleep apnea had no greater probability of having a crash than patients without sleep apnea, either before or after their diagnosis. Drivers with sleep apnea were also not found to be at an increased risk for multiple crashes, nor were crash rates impacted by the prevalence of apnea. No link between the severity of sleep apnea and traffic crashes was established in these analyses. |
| Rosap ID | dot:64 |
| Rosap URL | https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/64 |
| TRT Terms | Sleep; Physiological fatigue; Drivers; Alertness; Sleep deprivation; Eye movements; Epilepsy |
| Classification | AGR - SAFETY AND SECURITY - SAFETY AND SECURITY; NTL - PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION - Bus Transportation; NTL - FREIGHT - Trucking Industry; NTL - SAFETY AND SECURITY - Accidents; NTL - SAFETY AND SECURITY - SAFETY AND SECURITY; NTL - SAFETY AND SECURITY - Human Factors; NTL - SAFETY AND SECURITY - Highway Safety |
| Geographical Coverage |
United States |
| TRIS Online Accession No |
1522207 |
| Contract Number | SA-1J/AB136 |
| Report Number | FMCSA-RT-04-008 |
| Availability | Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference Center |
| Resource type | Tech Report |
| URL | https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/51000/51300/51311/FMCSA-RT-04-008.pdf |
| Format | |
| Database | NTL Digital Repository |