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I n the May issue of you had a short article titled Obesity Linked to Sleep Apnea in Drivers, which quoted Dr. Philip Parks on several points. Truck drivers with sleep apnea have up to a seven-fold increased risk of being involved in a motor ve-hicle crash. This statement is not supported by studies done on com-mercial motor vehicle operators. Most of the research finding an in-creased risk of crash has been done on the general driving population. Of the few studies done on truck drivers one literature review found two out of three studies showed truck drivers to not have increased crash rates. One FMCSA technical review of Dr. Parks' work found no statistical correlation to support the hypothesis of a link between sleep apnea and increased crash risk. The actual study referred to in your article involved drivers who went to an occupational health clinic for their DOT physical. Without being asked or given a chance to not participate in the study they were given a more rig-orous screening for sleep apnea than DOT regulations require. More than half failed and were required to get a $2,000 sleep study before being given a medical certificate. The study did not look at accident rates in any way. The study was a field test of a more rigorous screening policy for sleep apnea. The researchers did not even fund or offer assistance in getting sleep apnea testing to the drivers who were flunked on their DOT medical exam as part of the study. About half the drivers flunked were new hires who did not yet have medical insur-ance coverage. With the ongoing debate about requiring testing for sleep apnea as part of the DOT medical exam, I would hope an industry publica-tion such as would do a better job providing a balanced ar-ticle on the topic. Bob Stanton Batavia, Ill. SAVE YOURSELF A HEADACHE I am writing to remind truckers or make them aware if they don't already know how crucial it is to know what is on your DAC report. My husband recently lost his job after seven years with his employer. We knew times were tough, but with only two jobs in the last 12 years we didn't think it would take long to find new employment. Boy, were we wrong! We had not seen a copy of his report since 2002 when hired by the previous employer. It now con-tains a misdemeanor from Virginia for a person with the same first and Dig Deeper on Sleep Apnea FEEDBACK HOW HIGH WILL DIESEL PRICES GO THIS SUMMER? WHAT ARE THE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS? I'm not sure how high it will go, but I hope it isn't like last year. The main reason for the spike is greed. Those that supply us with diesel know that America uses more of it than most other countries, and they charge us higher because of it. Pete Butler It might get as high as $3 but no more. The price is high right now because it's the summer, and everyone wants to travel and spend more. Also if people think the economy is improving they will spend more, which will make prices increase. Julius Brown The price will be the same as last year. I don't look in-depth into why the price increases. I'm a company driver, and they pay the gas. I just drive. Sam Allman JULY 2009 10 TRUCKERS NEWS