In response to a Trump Administration decision to withdraw a mandate of sleep apnea testing for certain transportation employees if symptoms are observed, four Democratic U.S. senators recently requested a reversal of the decision, citing concerns of derailments and auto accidents caused by the sleep disorder.
The request was made by U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
In March 2016, the Obama Administration proposed a new mandate that would have expanded sleep apnea testing and treatment requirements for train operators and commercial truck driver after a string of deadly train derailments and auto accidents caused by sleepless transportation personnel who were suffering from the disorder.
The Obama Administration’s mandate followed a number of recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), dating as far back as 2001, that suggested that rail operators be tested and treated for sleep disorders in order to prevent deadly accidents from occurring.
However in early August, the Trump Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation would withdraw the mandate in an effort to cut industry regulation.
“We strongly believe that DOT should immediately reconsider the decision in order to help avoid future fatigue-related tragedies,” the senators wrote in a public letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
The senators continued, stating that due to serious concerns over the decision to vacate the potentially life-saving rule, the secretary should provide their offices with all data and information used to make the decision to withdraw the rule and the department’s plan to identify and treat operators suffering from obstructive sleep apnea before more fatal tragedies took place.
Neither the Trump Administration or Secretary Chao have formally responded to the senators’ request as of the writing of this article.