Fleet managers get Sleep Apnoea warning

Fleet managers need to be more aware of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) and the risks that the condition can present to company drivers, according to leading insurer Norwich Union. John Loughran reports

Norwich Union says that sleepy drivers could be just as dangerous as drink drivers, and that up to 86% of people have driven when tired or had actually "nodded off" while driving. However, those with OSA may be at even greater risk of falling asleep behind the wheel.
Bill Pownall, motor risk manager for Norwich Union, explained: "Although fatigue and tiredness are both factors in driver safety, it is important to differentiate these signs from excessive sleepiness including the symptoms of irritability or restlessness – which could be due to Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.

"Where in recent incidents we have seen fleet drivers exceeding their hours or simply ignoring the symptoms of being tired, fleet managers need to be vigilant when it comes to vetting the driver's health conditions and take notice if a driver complains of tiredness.
"Up to 27% of drivers with OSA have had a motor vehicle accident due to falling asleep at the wheel and, alarmingly, most sufferers of OSA do not realise they even have the condition."
Fleet managers can identify OSA through detecting its hallmark symptoms, which include excessive daytime sleepiness or, in extreme circumstances, falling asleep during the day.

"In any event, fleet managers should be discouraging drivers from driving when sleepy or tired,” he added.
Research by sleep specialists Respironics has shown that as many as one in six, or 80,000 UK heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers are suffering from the disorder.
Pownall says that drivers themselves can check out a variety of sources of information, such as the web or health booklets available in pharmacies, to help with self-diagnosis.
A special website - OSA Online - had been set up with the support of Respironics to provide information on OSA, which includes an online self assessment test.

Symptoms to watch out for include: restless sleep, loud snoring with periods of silence followed by gasps, morning headaches, trouble concentrating due to lack of restful sleep, irritability, forgetfulness and mood or behaviour changes due to poor sleep patterns over long periods.
“Whilst the symptoms are persistent, avoiding driving altogether will reduce the risk of road accidents," he says.
He adds: "It is the responsibility of the fleet manager to assess the safety of the driver’s ability to drive on a day-to-day basis. It is equally important that the individual is aware of the risks involved whilst driving tired and acts responsibly by declaring they are suffering from symptoms and visit their GP, as there is a variety of treatments available."
Meanwhile, in case in the UK the Court of appeal has found an employer liable for a road crash in which one of its workers was paralysed after falling asleep at the wheel.

The Court of Appeal awarded an interim payment of £400,000 to Michael Eyres, who was flung from his van after momentarily falling asleep. Final damages will be assessed at a later hearing.
Lord Justice Ward, who gave the ruling of the Court of Appeal, said Eyres, who was 20 at the time of the accident on the M1 in 2004 - was "in that predicament because his employers had put him there.”
At the same time, his final award was to be reduced by 33% because of his own contributory negligence in not wearing a seat belt and knowing he was at risk of falling asleep after working for 19 hours.

The court heard how Craig Atkinson, the 28-year-old managing director of Bradford-based Atkinsons Kitchens and Bedrooms, was with Eyres as a passenger at the time of the crash, and that he too was asleep.
Lord Justice Ward said: "Mr Atkinson's saying 'Eating's cheating' and 'You can sleep when you're dead' summed up the company's philosophy."
The judge described the company as "young and successful". He added: "Its success was no doubt based upon hard work and the clear impression... was that long hours, resulting in good money, were accepted by all to be normal.'"
He and two other appeal judges overturned a High Court ruling that Eyres was to blame for the accident because he was using a mobile telephone.

The judges heard how on the day of the accident Eyres had arrived at work at 3.30am after just four and a half hours' sleep. He then set off with Atkinson to fit a kitchen in Swindon, Wilts, 111 miles away. The pair shared the driving and work, which was finished at 2.30pm. Mr Atkinson said they had another job in Sidmouth, Devon, 122 miles away. They finished at 7pm, when Eyres began the drive home.
He told Atkinson he was "knackered" and asked if they were going to find somewhere to stay the night. But the judge said Eyres raised no serious objection to travelling home and was "quite content to do the driving". Atkinson had asked him twice during the journey if he "was all right".
Just 32 miles short of home, Eyres braked suddenly and lost control of his van, which overturned. His back was broken and doctors say that he will not walk again for the rest of his life.

Lord Justice Ward said that on the balance of probabilities, the cause of the accident was not using a mobile phone but falling asleep.
Eyres' solicitor, Daniel Herman said: "What this case shows is that employers who cause or permit their employees to work very long hours and drive at times when they are likely to be very tired could be liable if that tiredness leads to an accident.
"It has been accepted for decades that it is not safe to allow, for example, a factory employee to use machinery for hours at a time because of the risk of injury. Driving is also a potentially dangerous activity and employers need to take reasonable steps to ensure that their employees are safe."

He said that the hours of HGV drivers were tightly controlled, but that there was no similar statutory rules for drivers of small vans.