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* This is ridiculous. I have been in the industry for 21 years and I feel this is unfair to the Trucking Companies. 
 
 
 

i have only been driving 7 safe years and i still dont understand the 70 hr rule and 34 hr restart. i have to sit there and do nothing. i am all for the 14 hr rule and taking a 10 he break but come on im away from my family and i need to make money! its just not right! The 70 hr rule should be stopped! please respond back to me and make me understand. thank you

i can understand the 70 hour rule and the 34 hour reset. but if you really want to make the roads safer. let us split log. think about this. you start at 10 am. spending a half hour unloading in chicago you then drive two hour in to indina spend an hour loading then you have to go back though chicago at rush hour ! let the driver take a two or three hour brake that dont count aginst his 14 hours. that way less trucks in the middle of rush hour. i try a plan i trip though chicago late at night. less cars. less time spent driving.

I understand the rules as they are set now. I agree on the split logging that doesn't count against our 14hr clock, i don't agree that we should have to sit past two midnight to 6am shifts to complete our 34hr restart. that could take up to 54hrs if you don't start it at the right time. The split logging helps keep truckers from getting fatigued. now i find myself behind the wheel all day. I take that little nap in the middle and i feel refreshed. but don't tell me i can't take it a shipper or receivers. heck i spend anywhere from 2-6hrs at these places. and i spend it in the bunk. it needs to count but the clock needs to stop if i am in the bunk. not keep clicking.

I was recently hit with this sleep apnia thing on my recert for my physical. They gave me a three month card and said I had to get the test done, coome back in and I could get my recert. I had a hell of a time getting this test set up as they didn't set it up from where I had my DOT Physical. My family doctor had to set it up, of course this was after I tried unsucessfully for two weeks to get it done on my own. Finally when I got it set up it was into the beginning of the third month before I could get in to get the test done. I got in April 8th and it had to be done by April 21 so no problem. Well they told me it would take 7-10 days to get the results. Still no problem. I got the results from my doctor on the 19th, unfortunatly I did have it so the first thing I did was got the CPAP. They told me all I had to have was the proof I had it. So the 20th I take the receipt out to where I had my DOT done and they then tell me I need to have two weeks of information on the SMARTCARD, something that should have been told to us in the beginning but they failed to say. SO now I've been off work since the 21st of April. I get the two weeks on the card take it in and have it read, take the readings back to where I got the DOT done and then they tell me I need a statement from the doctor that did the test to read and see me so he can give me the all clear before they can issue the recert. So I have to call my family doctor once again to get a recommendation from them to see this doctor and then they have to set up an appointment to see him which I can't get into until the 16th of May. Once I get in there can I go back to work the next day? Who know's what they will come up with next. Has anyone else had problems with the issue of the doctors implementing a ruling that isn't even a regulation yet? I'd like to hear from others that have had a problem with this,

"I had a hell of a time getting this test set up as they didn't set it up from where I had my DOT Physical." 
 
 
 
There are sleep apnea testing and treatment firms that specialize in working with truck drivers. You don't want to get your sleep study from the same place that did the DOT physical. There are BIG money issues involved with sleep apnea testing. 
 
 
 
 
 
"Finally when I got it set up it was into the beginning of the third month before I could get in to get the test done." 
 
 
 
This is a BIG issue that even the FMCSA notes is a problem. The specialty firms understand drivers need quick turn around on tests and results. 
 
 
 
"They told me all I had to have was the proof I had it." 
 
 
 
WRONG!!!! see below  
 
 
 
"tell me I need to have two weeks of information on the SMARTCARD, something that should have been told to us in the beginning but they failed to say. SO now I've been off work since the 21st of April. I get the two weeks on the card take it in and have it read, take the readings back to where I got the DOT done and then they tell me I need a statement from the doctor that did the test to read and see me so he can give me the all clear before they can issue the recert. So I have to call my family doctor once again to get a recommendation from them to see this doctor and then they have to set up an appointment to see him which I can't get into until the 16th of May. Once I get in there can I go back to work the next day?" 
 
 
 
You need to be "under current and effective treatment for sleep apnea" as demonstrated by at least two week compliant CPAP use with a CPAP data download showing this. 
 
 
 
If the CPAP data for the first two weeks is not good you may be off work even longer. You MUST have at least 4 hours on pressure (the CPAP working right..no maks leaks etc) 70% of the nights to be compliant. You also need a letter from a doctor stating you are under curent and effective treatment. Getting this letter from the sleep doctor who prescribed your CPAP is a better idea than your family doctor. 
 
 
 
 
 
"Who know's what they will come up with next. Has anyone else had problems with the issue of the doctors implementing a ruling that isn't even a regulation yet?" 
 
 
 
I've been dealing with this since 2002 and we have a support group for truck drivers with sleep apnea dealing with this all the time.  
 
 
 
Jeremy who manages this blog has met me at conferences where we try to get the right information out. 
 
 
 
Yes, much of the sleep apnea "stuff" is not a regulation. But it has been guidance to the medical examiners for years. A problem has been that many of the medical examiners were not following the guidance. More and more are now and with the upcoming National Registry for DOT medical examiners all of them will have to follow the guidance in the near future. 
 
 
 
 
 
"I'd like to hear from others that have had a problem with this" 
 
 
 
I'm one.. and we gets calls and e-mails at the Truckers for a Cause chapter of A. W. A. K. E. website like yours all the time. 
 
 
 
There are LOTS of us out on the road successful with our CPAP. YES,, this getting started is a royal pain in the butt.. But if you had not been diagnosed and gotten treatment there are a whole host of thins medically untreated sleep apnea messes up. 
 
 
 
For me I would be DEAD now if I had not gotten treatment for my sleep apnea back in 2002.