Five state trucking associations announced they have selected Sleep Access to deliver customized driver fatigue programs for their membership in preparation for a regulation on fatigued driving and the prevalence of sleep apnea in the trucking industry. The Tennessee Trucking Association first endorsed Sleep Access in late 2009, followed by the Kentucky Motor Transport Association, Louisiana Motor Transport Association, Iowa Motor Truck Association and Oklahoma Trucking Association.
“We knew over two years ago driver fatigue and sleep apnea was going to be a big safety issue for our industry,” says Dave Huneryager, TTA president and chief executive officer. “We decided to get involved early on and help design a program that would really benefit our members.”
Sleep Access says it has intimate knowledge of the trucking industry and was formed, both with and for the trucking industry, to specifically help solve driver fatigue issues with an industry-minded approach. “With the increased emphasis on fatigued drivers and their health, sleep apnea is an increasing concern,” says Tommy Hodges, immediate past chairman of the American Trucking Associations. “Sleep Access has developed a program specifically designed to be both economical and practical for the trucker.”
Sleep Access, based in Nashville, Tenn., manages sleep health programs on a large, national scale or even a smaller, localized approach through its network of local sleep health professionals. “By working with the state associations, we are able to reach not only the large carriers, but we also bring the same quality of service to the small and medium-sized fleets that make up the heart of these associations,” says Gary Carrigan, director of marketing for Sleep Access. “A lot of those fleets will be hardest hit or hardest pressed to address the issue whenever a ruling is finalized.”
“From the very beginning, we knew that bringing state associations, trucking companies and drivers to the table to help design our program would bring the affordable high-quality industry-centered kind of program that is needed,” says Evan Bledsoe, managing partner of Sleep Access. “We are extremely pleased to be able to reward that effort by offering back a realistic and practical program to those same organizations and the rest of this industry.”
