Save Time with Alamo City Health & Safety's DOT Services 

CDL/DOT Physical Exam – Sleep Apnea

Sleep disorders are quite common, but they can impact driving. As a result, the FMCSA has established guidelines regarding medical issues involving sleep. The good news is that sleep disorders will not necessarily instantly preclude you from passing the DOT physical.

Getting Certified with Sleep Apnea

You may be able to get certified even if you have sleep apnea. For example, if you use a CPAP machine and change your lifestyle to a healthier one to facilitate better and more restful sleep. The reason is that a CPAP machine can make a tremendous impact on sleep apnea. If you already have a CPAP machine make sure you print out your compliance report and bring it with you to the appointment.

If you snore and are obese, it might mean you are at risk of sleep apnea.
If the examiner believes you may have sleep apnea, our Certified Medical
Examiner and Clinical Coordinator will go over your options to learn more
about your condition.

The commercial driver obviously spends more time driving than the average individual.

Driving is an activity that demands the driver be alert at all times. Symptoms of respiratory dysfunction or disease can be debilitating and can interfere with the ability to remain attentive to driving conditions and to perform heavy exertion. Even the slightest impairment in respiratory function under emergency conditions (when greater oxygen supply may be necessary for performance) can be detrimental to safe driving.

There are many primary and secondary respiratory conditions that interfere with oxygen exchange and may result in gradual or sudden incapacitation, for example:

• Asthma.
• Carcinoma.
• Chronic bronchitis.
• Emphysema.
• Obstructive sleep apnea.
• Tuberculosis. In addition, medications used to treat respiratory

conditions, both prescription and those available without a prescription, may cause cognitive difficulties, compound the risk for excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), or cause other forms of incapacitation.