FMCSA Announces Meetings on Obstructive Sleep Apnea Recommendations

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announces a joint meeting of its Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) and Medical Review Board (MRB) on Oct 24, 2016.

According to regulations.gov, the MRB will report on its revised recommendations on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) based on its evaluation of the comments from the joint Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) that the FMCSA issued with the Federal Railroad Administration. Additionally, the MCSAC will discuss how the implementation of these recommendations may impact current and future populations of drivers.

On Oct 25, the MCSAC will meet separately to complete its review of the FMCSA’s regulatory guidance, and the MRB will meet to discuss how to incorporate recently issued warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on narcotics and benzodiazepines.

The meetings are open to the public for their entirety.

The joint meeting will be held on Oct 24 from 9:15 AM to 5 PM, Eastern Time. On Oct 25, the MCSAC and MRB will meet separately. Copies of all task statements and an agenda for the entire meeting will be made available in advance of the meeting at http://mrb.fmcsa.dot.gov and http://mcsac.fmcsa.dot.gov.

The meetings will take place at the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), 1201 Fifteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20005.

In August, the MRB issued official recommendations as part of the ongoing proposed rulemaking process. If the FMCSA does ultimately make new rules on motor carriers and sleep apnea, the agency is not required to adopt the MRB’s recommendations.