FRA, FMCSA withdraw obstructive sleep apnea rulemaking

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Railroad Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration withdrew a proposed requirement for railroads, motorcoach, and trucking companies to test employees for obstructive sleep apnea, the USA Today reports.

In their announcement, the FRA and FMCSA said they'd encourage trucking and rail companies to voluntarily screen employees involved in safety-sensitive work, such as truck drivers and train engineers, for sleep apnea.

The proposed sleep apnea testing requirement stemmed from a December 2013 derailment of a Metro-North commuter train in Spuyten Duyvil, N.Y. Four people were killed when the train jumped the tracks at 82 mph on a curve limited to 30 mph. NTSB investigators found that the engineer, William Rockefeller, had undiagnosed sleep apnea. For the full story, click here.